Weight loss on the pill?

hollymb1221

I’ve gained about 30 pounds in the last 6 months during that time I started taking Zoloft and sprintec birth control. Do you think I can still lose the weight while taking these?

DietingMommy2008

I have been losing weight just fine on Birth control pills, however Idk the side effects of Zoloft and if they cause weight gain or not.

Either way... anything is possible if you work hard enough.

brittyn3

Are you logging what you're eating? Since birth control messes with your hormones - it's likely increasing your appetite, so you could be eating more. I don't know anything about zoloft though, so I can't attest to that.

Maybe ask your doctor that prescribed these things, and see what they suggest?

MarylandRose

Most medications do not themselves cause weight gain. They might cause water retention, which would show as an increase on the scale when you start taking it, and then be steady after that - so it wouldn't keep you from losing weight, you'd just always be carrying an extra pound of water with you at all times. Or they can cause an increase in appetite, and there's plenty of stories from people here who prepared for that and just worked around feeling a little hungry sometimes.

I've been on BC pills for years, a variety of them over time as we figured out what works best for me. They've never affected my weight, and the pill I've been on for 2+ years has not kept me from losing weight steadily for the past ~18 months.

hollymb1221

Thank you! I was thinking the exact same thing. It’s not the pills that have caused the weight gain it’s the appetite increase.... and I have been logging what I eat I just find it so hard at the end of the day and eat a bunch of sweets

MarylandRose

I haven't experienced an appetite increase on BC, but that's obviously only valid for me.
You might also be feeling hungry if your goal in MFP is set too aggressively and you're giving yourself too few calories to eat each day.
I'm 5'3" with just vanity weight left to lose, so my goal rate in MFP is not set to "lose 2lbs/week." And I eat sweets/salty snacks when I want, whenever I can fit them into my day. If you've given up all of your favorite things at once, that can also make weight loss harder than it needs to be.
My fiancee surprised me with a cookie cake last night (AMAZING) and I was able to fit a small slice into my day and stay within my calorie goal.

thelegendofsakura89

I've been on the pill and an AD, and personally, neither one of them seemed to affect my weight.
Although to be fair, I was constantly hungry when I started the pill...not sure if its relevant though.

DomesticKat

A lot of birth control pills cause an increase in hunger. The average person doesn't always have a firm grasp of CICO, I know I didn't when I started BCP as a teen, so they eat more because they're hungry and pretty soon they gain weight. The pill gets blamed when really it's the person eating to satiate their increased hunger from the pill. Doctors don't always do a great job of explaining this, mine definitely didn't when I asked about it after gaining 20 pounds in college. Bloating and water retention are definitely another factor. I think you're already ahead of the game by just being aware and calorie counting. I've been able to lose weight while on BCP.