Weight loss with birth control advice, 30lb gain.
xXbambieXx
Posts: 4 Member
Really struggling right now and advice would be appreciated!
Over the past year I managed to lose 40 lbs from eating healthy and exercising 4-5x a week and I got to the smallest I have been in years!
I then got onto birth control pills and all hell broke loose. I gained 30lbs back in just six months, with no idea how.
I have since come off the pills in January and have started eating healthy and exercising again. I have been focusing on cardio to try and see the weight loss and motivate myself, but Iv actually gained 3 lbs more.
Everything I did before to lose 40 is no longer working and I am incredibly discouraged as I am almost the same weight as when I started a couple years ago.
Has any one had similar experiences or can give any advice? Thank you!
Also I'm up for adding friends on MFP to help encourage each other, so don't be afraid to add me
Over the past year I managed to lose 40 lbs from eating healthy and exercising 4-5x a week and I got to the smallest I have been in years!
I then got onto birth control pills and all hell broke loose. I gained 30lbs back in just six months, with no idea how.
I have since come off the pills in January and have started eating healthy and exercising again. I have been focusing on cardio to try and see the weight loss and motivate myself, but Iv actually gained 3 lbs more.
Everything I did before to lose 40 is no longer working and I am incredibly discouraged as I am almost the same weight as when I started a couple years ago.
Has any one had similar experiences or can give any advice? Thank you!
Also I'm up for adding friends on MFP to help encourage each other, so don't be afraid to add me
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Replies
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Have you been to the doctor to have tests done to see if there's an underlying medical issue? The pills usually don't cause weight gain per a bunch of studies done on the subject, and if they do it's supposed to go away within 2-3 months. If you've gained that much while on the pill, it could indicate a glucose problem if I remember correctly. Good luck!
(I've been on the pill for almost a decade now and have never experienced weight gain from any of the pills I've tried)7 -
I would also suggest some bloodwork to verify you don't have something else going on, like a thyroid condition.2
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I agree with talking to your doctor and getting blood work done. Maybe the b/c pills caused some sort of hormonal imbalance.1
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You don't say if you tracked calories whilst taking the pill and have stated you have only just started "eating healthy" after that gain period. i think that's your problem. Calorie creep in the first instance which is correlation not causation and restarting exercise causing water retention. I would knuckle down on tracking your calories and give it 4-6 weeks. If nothing is happening by then I would check in with my doctor.11
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Sadly, for some of us ladies, the pill (and the therewith associated hormones) leads to an increase in appetite.
The first time I went on the pill, I gained about 20kg. I wasn't tracking my intake but I assume (with hindsight) that I was simply eating more to try and slay that ravenous dragon in the pit of my stomach. It's been a while, so I don't remember exactly how I felt, but it's the feeling I have right now. My GP ended up performing every test under the sun as a 20kg gain in less than a year was rather worrisome to him (oddly enough, for my gynecologist it was statistically not relevant). He found nothing even after repeated testing.
This time around, I'm maintaining (I started again in December). I'm still white knuckling the increased appetite somewhat but I haven't gained a gram since starting (well went up 3kg over Christmas/New Years but that's finally gone again). Sadly, I have little choice on whether I take the hormones or not and the added appetite/feeling of hunger is simple something I'm going to have to deal with within the limits of my maintenance calories (the alternatives would make me fully infertile and I'm too young yet for any doctor with half a wit to even consider that).
I'll start gently cutting again once I feel I have better control over myself but it's a daily struggle since I'm not eating to my appetite. Where I not tracking my intake, I probably wouldn't notice (a bit more chocolate here, an added serving of lunch there, just one more fruit than really necessary...) as I would simply assume I'm hungry and eat something. It sneaks up on you.
Do get a check up at the doctor. But please don't be disappointed if he finds nothing and realize that your mind can seriously trick you into eating more than you think if you're not tracking.
Keep doing what you're doing and eventually (slowly and gradually) your body will release that fat reserve it's talked itself into acquiring again. But it does take persistence and consistency over a prolonged time. What your body achieved in 6 months might take upwards of a year to undo as hormones can really really really suck.4 -
I've been on the combined pill for years, I have no idea if it's implicated in my weight gain, but if it is, it's only by adding to my already enormous appetite. And it doesn't seem to stop the weight coming off. Just track accurately and stick to your goals and you'll lose weight like anyone else, barring an underlying metabolic disorder.2
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Op, nowhere in your first post do you mention how many calories you're eating?3
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Thanks to everyone for the comments, just going to clear some things up here.
I have had some medical issues, so I have been to hospitals multiple times over the past year and there have been no abnormalities in my tests for things like hormone levels in my blood, but I haven't been since coming off the pill.
I was on birth control and continued to lose weight, but had many other side effects and switched to another, which immediately made the weight come on.
I was on roughly a 1200-1400 calorie diet, which of course went up a bit during Christmas, since coming off the pill my weight gain has slowed, but I am still gaining. I am still eating the same way I was when I lost all of that weight in the first place, I immediately saw my weight loss results in the first week back then, now I just see slight gains that all add up.
Thanks so much everyone for your advice.1 -
are you weighing and measuring everything?3
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I have been researching "the pill" in general & my doctor said there are just SO many different types of pills, it's kind of a crapshoot to find one that works best for you. I know you said the one you were on before had some side effects so you switched, but can you ask your doctor if you could try one with similar hormone levels to the first one? If you go from one type to another with drastically different levels, it can mess up your body for sure.0
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Progesterone pill can cause weight gain it says on leaflet
Hormone medication can make it harder to lose weight
Years ago I lost weight easily but after 40 on birth control its harder doing similar as I did years ago
We are all different no one can possibly know how a medication can effect each individual0 -
Progesterone pill can cause weight gain it says on leaflet
Hormone medication can make it harder to lose weight
Years ago I lost weight easily but after 40 on birth control its harder doing similar as I did years ago
We are all different no one can possibly know how a medication can effect each individual
There's nothing the pill does that causes magical weight gain. When weight is listed as a side effect it is usually because of an increase in appetite causing people to eat more without realising. Or sometimes they do realise.
Finding it harder to lose when older probably has nothing to do with hormone medication and everything to do with some natural loss of muscle mass from ageing and a reduction of NEAT due to just not being as subconsciously active as we are in our 20s.
These are things that are correlation with the pill, not causation and it's important to recognise that so as not to give power to things that are actually total within our control. And I say this as someone who started losing weight when on strong psychoactive medication notorious for weight gain (due to huge appetite increase and potential down regulation of metabolism, though I lost as expected).5 -
I've been on Loestrine 24, and right now I'm on a progesterone (megace/megesterol), and I've been lucky enough that even with increased hunger, I've been able to lose weight and from going straight from one of the other.
If you've been careful about your foods, logging accurately down to even weighing your food, etc. (your diary isn't open to the public to determine or ask about anything specifically), then I'd talk to your doctor and explain your concerns, see what tests they can run to see if it is a hormonal imbalance, or perhaps a different issue that has come up if they're looking specifically for a problem (or if they were already covered by the tests you have had ran) or just if they have any recommendations specifically for you.1 -
I gained 40 in 6 months when I first went on Birth Control. For "some" women the pill is the devil. And anyone that tells you different is a Man or is just plain lucky to not have had the body chemistry to have that horrible effect. I went off, and over the years tried different ones..nuva ring was the only one that didn't cause my brain to stroke out (seriously went nuts on all pill form) and I didn't gain weight on it. BUT!!...I started to get unnerving sharp pains behind my knee caps...scared me so I stopped that too. Now I just am careful with the husband.1
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There's nothing the pill does that causes magical weight gain. When weight is listed as a side effect it is usually because of an increase in appetite causing people to eat more without realising. Or sometimes they do realise.
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Aside from messing with hormones and changing what the body wants to do organically. Hormones are everything...they control everything within our bodies including how our bodies respond to nutrients ...all signals sent to the brain to hold/ release, feel hunger etc etc (you get my point) are all controlled with hormones. So yes taking something that directly effects hormones can for sure effect some in some pretty wacky ways and even "not understood" ways!0 -
Pale_Green wrote: »I gained 40 in 6 months when I first went on Birth Control. For "some" women the pill is the devil. And anyone that tells you different is a Man or is just plain lucky to not have had the body chemistry to have that horrible effect. I went off, and over the years tried different ones..nuva ring was the only one that didn't cause my brain to stroke out (seriously went nuts on all pill form) and I didn't gain weight on it. BUT!!...I started to get unnerving sharp pains behind my knee caps...scared me so I stopped that too. Now I just am careful with the husband.
The only weight gain that can be truly attributed to birth control pills is water weight or increased appetite. It's not a matter of luck.2 -
Pale_Green wrote: »I gained 40 in 6 months when I first went on Birth Control. For "some" women the pill is the devil. And anyone that tells you different is a Man or is just plain lucky to not have had the body chemistry to have that horrible effect. I went off, and over the years tried different ones..nuva ring was the only one that didn't cause my brain to stroke out (seriously went nuts on all pill form) and I didn't gain weight on it. BUT!!...I started to get unnerving sharp pains behind my knee caps...scared me so I stopped that too. Now I just am careful with the husband.
Careful does not prevent pregnancy. I'm assuming you and your husband are at a point in your lives where you are prepared for a surprise pregnancy. If so, a congratulations are in your future. If you are not wanting to become pregnant at this time you need to be on a reliable form of birth control. Talk to your doctor. If you feel hormonal birth control gives you problems there are options without hormones. Also, it is important to note that pregnancy is a huge contributor to weight gain, much more so than birth control.4 -
Birth control pills/shots/patches/inserts are have "may cause weight gain" on their side affects due to the fact that any thing unusual during the testing must be reported and if more than 1% report a symptom it must be added to the side affects.
In truth however the pill itself cannot cause weight gain as it has no calories. Any weight gain after starting birth control can be attributed to a couple things.
1. Water weight gain due to hormone levels which goes away within the first couple of months
2. actual weight gain due to "increased appetite"...
Often times women who gain weight are not tracking accurately and often confuse increased appetite with hunger.
So if you are 100% sure you are logging accurately then you need to see your doctor about this magical weight gain without any excess calories to account for it because well..science.1 -
Pale_Green wrote: »Aside from messing with hormones and changing what the body wants to do organically. Hormones are everything...they control everything within our bodies including how our bodies respond to nutrients ...all signals sent to the brain to hold/ release, feel hunger etc etc (you get my point) are all controlled with hormones. So yes taking something that directly effects hormones can for sure effect some in some pretty wacky ways and even "not understood" ways!
Well, yes, but the only way it can actually affect fat stores is good old fashioned (a) appetite or (b) metabolic effects making you burn less.
(b) is going to be pretty limited in scope and you can get round it by being more active (barring an actual metabolic disorder, which needs to be treated first).
My hunch is that most of the weight gain is due to (a). Increased appetite doesn't just make you feel hunger, it will also make portions look smaller and (in my experience) make you more forgetful of what you have eaten. That's more than enough to cause weight gain.
If course, then there is (c) water weight, which will go loopy and confuse the issue completely, as you can't see clearly how much fat you have gained or lost.2 -
jennybearlv wrote: »Pale_Green wrote: »I gained 40 in 6 months when I first went on Birth Control. For "some" women the pill is the devil. And anyone that tells you different is a Man or is just plain lucky to not have had the body chemistry to have that horrible effect. I went off, and over the years tried different ones..nuva ring was the only one that didn't cause my brain to stroke out (seriously went nuts on all pill form) and I didn't gain weight on it. BUT!!...I started to get unnerving sharp pains behind my knee caps...scared me so I stopped that too. Now I just am careful with the husband.
Careful does not prevent pregnancy. I'm assuming you and your husband are at a point in your lives where you are prepared for a surprise pregnancy. If so, a congratulations are in your future. If you are not wanting to become pregnant at this time you need to be on a reliable form of birth control. Talk to your doctor. If you feel hormonal birth control gives you problems there are options without hormones. Also, it is important to note that pregnancy is a huge contributor to weight gain, much more so than birth control.
There are other ways to prevent pregnancy that have just about as high of success as the pill.
I'm sure most realize this. So no it doesn't mean congratulations are in someone's future if they no longer can use birth control pills. My last child was born 9 years ago. And I gained more on birth control that I was on in 6 months than I did in two pregnancies.
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Pale_Green wrote: »jennybearlv wrote: »Pale_Green wrote: »I gained 40 in 6 months when I first went on Birth Control. For "some" women the pill is the devil. And anyone that tells you different is a Man or is just plain lucky to not have had the body chemistry to have that horrible effect. I went off, and over the years tried different ones..nuva ring was the only one that didn't cause my brain to stroke out (seriously went nuts on all pill form) and I didn't gain weight on it. BUT!!...I started to get unnerving sharp pains behind my knee caps...scared me so I stopped that too. Now I just am careful with the husband.
Careful does not prevent pregnancy. I'm assuming you and your husband are at a point in your lives where you are prepared for a surprise pregnancy. If so, a congratulations are in your future. If you are not wanting to become pregnant at this time you need to be on a reliable form of birth control. Talk to your doctor. If you feel hormonal birth control gives you problems there are options without hormones. Also, it is important to note that pregnancy is a huge contributor to weight gain, much more so than birth control.
There are other ways to prevent pregnancy that have just about as high of success as the pill. I'm sure most realize this. So no it doesn't mean congratulations are in someone's future if they no longer can use birth control pills. My last child was born 9 years ago. And I gained more on birth control that I was on in 6 months than I did in two pregnancies.
Yes, there are. I have an IUD which is more effective because there is less chance of user error. I would like to know for my own education exactly what methods of "being careful" have a more than 99% rate of effectiveness for the average person like the pill does.2 -
jennybearlv wrote: »Pale_Green wrote: »jennybearlv wrote: »Pale_Green wrote: »I gained 40 in 6 months when I first went on Birth Control. For "some" women the pill is the devil. And anyone that tells you different is a Man or is just plain lucky to not have had the body chemistry to have that horrible effect. I went off, and over the years tried different ones..nuva ring was the only one that didn't cause my brain to stroke out (seriously went nuts on all pill form) and I didn't gain weight on it. BUT!!...I started to get unnerving sharp pains behind my knee caps...scared me so I stopped that too. Now I just am careful with the husband.
Careful does not prevent pregnancy. I'm assuming you and your husband are at a point in your lives where you are prepared for a surprise pregnancy. If so, a congratulations are in your future. If you are not wanting to become pregnant at this time you need to be on a reliable form of birth control. Talk to your doctor. If you feel hormonal birth control gives you problems there are options without hormones. Also, it is important to note that pregnancy is a huge contributor to weight gain, much more so than birth control.
There are other ways to prevent pregnancy that have just about as high of success as the pill. I'm sure most realize this. So no it doesn't mean congratulations are in someone's future if they no longer can use birth control pills. My last child was born 9 years ago. And I gained more on birth control that I was on in 6 months than I did in two pregnancies.
Yes, there are. I have an IUD which is more effective because there is less chance of user error. I would like to know for my own education exactly what methods of "being careful" have a more than 99% rate of effectiveness for the average person like the pill does.
Well, there's one obvious one I'm thinking of. They come in little square packets and various flavours.
(although they are pretty vulnerable to user error)0 -
CattOfTheGarage wrote: »jennybearlv wrote: »Pale_Green wrote: »jennybearlv wrote: »Pale_Green wrote: »I gained 40 in 6 months when I first went on Birth Control. For "some" women the pill is the devil. And anyone that tells you different is a Man or is just plain lucky to not have had the body chemistry to have that horrible effect. I went off, and over the years tried different ones..nuva ring was the only one that didn't cause my brain to stroke out (seriously went nuts on all pill form) and I didn't gain weight on it. BUT!!...I started to get unnerving sharp pains behind my knee caps...scared me so I stopped that too. Now I just am careful with the husband.
Careful does not prevent pregnancy. I'm assuming you and your husband are at a point in your lives where you are prepared for a surprise pregnancy. If so, a congratulations are in your future. If you are not wanting to become pregnant at this time you need to be on a reliable form of birth control. Talk to your doctor. If you feel hormonal birth control gives you problems there are options without hormones. Also, it is important to note that pregnancy is a huge contributor to weight gain, much more so than birth control.
There are other ways to prevent pregnancy that have just about as high of success as the pill. I'm sure most realize this. So no it doesn't mean congratulations are in someone's future if they no longer can use birth control pills. My last child was born 9 years ago. And I gained more on birth control that I was on in 6 months than I did in two pregnancies.
Yes, there are. I have an IUD which is more effective because there is less chance of user error. I would like to know for my own education exactly what methods of "being careful" have a more than 99% rate of effectiveness for the average person like the pill does.
Well, there's one obvious one I'm thinking of. They come in little square packets and various flavours.
(although they are pretty vulnerable to user error)
Are they as high as 99%?0 -
CattOfTheGarage wrote: »jennybearlv wrote: »Pale_Green wrote: »jennybearlv wrote: »Pale_Green wrote: »I gained 40 in 6 months when I first went on Birth Control. For "some" women the pill is the devil. And anyone that tells you different is a Man or is just plain lucky to not have had the body chemistry to have that horrible effect. I went off, and over the years tried different ones..nuva ring was the only one that didn't cause my brain to stroke out (seriously went nuts on all pill form) and I didn't gain weight on it. BUT!!...I started to get unnerving sharp pains behind my knee caps...scared me so I stopped that too. Now I just am careful with the husband.
Careful does not prevent pregnancy. I'm assuming you and your husband are at a point in your lives where you are prepared for a surprise pregnancy. If so, a congratulations are in your future. If you are not wanting to become pregnant at this time you need to be on a reliable form of birth control. Talk to your doctor. If you feel hormonal birth control gives you problems there are options without hormones. Also, it is important to note that pregnancy is a huge contributor to weight gain, much more so than birth control.
There are other ways to prevent pregnancy that have just about as high of success as the pill. I'm sure most realize this. So no it doesn't mean congratulations are in someone's future if they no longer can use birth control pills. My last child was born 9 years ago. And I gained more on birth control that I was on in 6 months than I did in two pregnancies.
Yes, there are. I have an IUD which is more effective because there is less chance of user error. I would like to know for my own education exactly what methods of "being careful" have a more than 99% rate of effectiveness for the average person like the pill does.
Well, there's one obvious one I'm thinking of. They come in little square packets and various flavours.
(although they are pretty vulnerable to user error)
According to Planned Parenthood:
If you use condoms perfectly every single time you have sex, they're 98% effective at preventing pregnancy. But people aren't perfect, so in real life condoms are about 82% effective — that means about 18 out of 100 people who use condoms as their only birth control method will get pregnant each year. - See more at: https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/birth-control/condom/how-effective-are-condoms#sthash.aknAb8OE.dpuf
When used perfectly, the pill is 99% effective. But when it comes to real life, the pill is about 91% effective because it can be hard to be perfect. So in reality, 9 out of 100 pill users get pregnant each year. - See more at: https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/birth-control/birth-control-pill/how-effective-is-the-birth-control-pill#sthash.e2n293Kq.dpuf
I was wrong about pill use for the average person though. I fortunately fell into the perfect user category when I took it, but it's still significantly more effective than just condoms:0 -
Every time condom effectiveness is discussed anywhere I just have the scene from Friends with Ross getting mad at condom failure rates running through my head.3
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xXbambieXx wrote: »Thanks to everyone for the comments, just going to clear some things up here.
I have had some medical issues, so I have been to hospitals multiple times over the past year and there have been no abnormalities in my tests for things like hormone levels in my blood, but I haven't been since coming off the pill.
I was on birth control and continued to lose weight, but had many other side effects and switched to another, which immediately made the weight come on.
I was on roughly a 1200-1400 calorie diet, which of course went up a bit during Christmas, since coming off the pill my weight gain has slowed, but I am still gaining. I am still eating the same way I was when I lost all of that weight in the first place, I immediately saw my weight loss results in the first week back then, now I just see slight gains that all add up.
Thanks so much everyone for your advice.
I'm going to hone in on a couple of things in your post - "I was on roughly a 1200-1400 calorie diet" and "I am still eating the same way I was when I lost all that weight".
Weight loss is all about calories.- Start logging everything accurately and consistently, so you know exactly, not roughly.
- Double check that you are using correct entries in the database - lots are user entered and flat out wrong.
- Commit to using a food scale for all solid food for at least 2 to 3 weeks, even packaged or scanned food, fruits, etc. It would be awesome if you could do this for longer, but 2-3 weeks is long enough to start to correct any portion size issues that might be there.
- Consider that you might need to be patient. You mentioned health issues, so possibly your Calories Out is different now than it was the first time you lost.
Hang in there and good luck :drinker:1 -
I'm in almost the exact same boat. I lost 40lbs in 2015. I gained ten back in the beginning of 2016 when I took a desk job that wasn't as active as my prior job. Then in Oct i started a new bc pill and immediately my hair started coming out, I was bloated, and i was starving constantly which caused me to eat more (and binge) which led me to gain nearly ten pounds a month. I gained the last 30 back. I stopped mine in January but it can take a couple months for everything to get back on its regular track. I did notice my appetite start to decline after a little over a month so now it's a little easier to resist the cravings. So now it's back to square one again. I've tried a few kinds of bc but they always make my hair fall out and they always keep me from losing weight so I think I'm about done trying to find one that jives with me.0
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Progesterone pill can cause weight gain it says on leaflet
Hormone medication can make it harder to lose weight
Years ago I lost weight easily but after 40 on birth control its harder doing similar as I did years ago
We are all different no one can possibly know how a medication can effect each individual
It doesn't directly cause weight gain; it causes an increase in appetite which leads to weight gain. You cannot create energy out of nothing.
I'm on a few medications that list weight gain as as side-effect. It didn't stop me from losing 100lbs. I do have to control my monsterous appetite by eating high volume though.2 -
The pill does not cause weight gain. Eating more calories does. The pill can cause strokes though, learned that the hard way. I now use a non hormonal IUD and am on blood thinners. I'm 30.
Still, was able to lose weight on the pill and am now losing weight on the blood thinners. #winning0 -
I gained weight on the pill - because I ate too much.
I have also lost weight on the pill - because I ate in a calorie deficit.
I just switched to Depo (because migraine with aura + pill = BAD, apparently) and I plan on continuing to lose weight. If I gain, it'll be because I ate too much.1
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