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Cassidy95c
Cassidy95c Posts: 28 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok so I know this sort of on the personal side but this just popped in my head about birth control...can it interfere with body building or losing weight? What are your thoughts and suggestions on this?

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  • SCoil123
    SCoil123 Posts: 2,108 Member
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    Not in my experience. I have found it can increase cravings which can affect progress if you give in to them and it can affect water weight which can mask progress temporarily.
  • eisterunicorn
    eisterunicorn Posts: 158 Member
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    Cassidy95c wrote: »
    Yea I’ll probably stay away from it then I hear too many weight gain stories... have any of you guys had your tubes tied and then get them untied whenever you wanted to get pregnant? Is that a possibility lol

    Get an IUD!!!! I have skyla. Best thing ever. Traditional birth control didn’t work for me. IUDs are amazing
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
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    I have a non-hormonal IUD.. but I am also breastfeeding. I haven't had any issues bodybuilding or losing weight.
  • af240
    af240 Posts: 37 Member
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    I have the arm implant and haven't noticed it affecting my weight loss. I would say there are times where I feel "extra hormonal" and bloated, and I know I'm retaining water but it always passes.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    It can increase your appetite. Obviously, still up to you to eat less... but it's much harder when you're hungry all the time. It really depends for everyone though.
  • DomesticKat
    DomesticKat Posts: 565 Member
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    I've never had trouble losing weight on various birth control. Even if increased hunger is a symptom, if you're tracking your calories by weighing and measuring then you know what you're supposed to be eating every day to lose. You may have a slight bump with bloating but it's not going to be permanent or prevent you from losing weight so I wouldn't get discouraged by that. I take birth control for reproductive health issues so I'd rather have the temporary bump in water weight when I first start it vs. pain and suffering every month. My husbot is sterile so pregnancy isn't a concern.
  • yweight2020
    yweight2020 Posts: 591 Member
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    Even though tubes can be untied now you should consider it permanent because reversal isn't always successful and it is costly. More options now like iuds the patch, injections pick something non permanent until your really sure. Best of care to you.
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
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    I got a Mirena IUD in January and it has made me downright ravenous! I do like what Mirena is doing otherwise, but boy, I crave carbs like mad. Trying to keep it on track, but I've only been able to tie the change to when I got the Mirena.
  • DomesticKat
    DomesticKat Posts: 565 Member
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    I'm currently using Nuvaring. I had a pound or two of water weight when I first started and it dropped off after a week. No other symptoms. I keep one in permanently so I don't have periods. I've used different low estrogen birth control pills in the past and haven't had any issues.
  • Davidsdottir
    Davidsdottir Posts: 1,285 Member
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    I wouldn't recommend bulking on a hormonal birth control as the increased estrogen can cause a higher fat to muscle ratio than is optimal. I learned that the hard way during a previous bulk. I have a non-hormonal IUD now.
  • HoneyBadger302
    HoneyBadger302 Posts: 1,978 Member
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    I have a hormonal IUD, and my weight gains and losses have never been tied to BC of any variety (pills or this). Every gain was easily explained by uncensored eating and a lowering of activity, and losses had similar results.
  • Dee_D33
    Dee_D33 Posts: 106 Member
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    Cassidy95c wrote: »
    Ok so I know this sort of on the personal side but this just popped in my head about birth control...can it interfere with body building or losing weight? What are your thoughts and suggestions on this?

    In short, no. Birth control does not make anyone gain or lose weight. What it can do is increase or decrease cravings and water weight (barely). I was on the pill for a year, then nexplanon for 6, and mirena for 1 and counting. None have caused drastic weight gain but that’s because I was conscious of my eating habits. My weight was gained after my husband deployed and I ate my feelings lol. But I’m back on the wagon and 15 lbs down so the mirena hasn’t gotten in the way of anything.
  • DomesticKat
    DomesticKat Posts: 565 Member
    edited March 2018
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    Dee_D33 wrote: »
    In short, no. Birth control does not make anyone gain or lose weight. What it can do is increase or decrease cravings and water weight (barely). I was on the pill for a year, then nexplanon for 6, and mirena for 1 and counting. None have caused drastic weight gain but that’s because I was conscious of my eating habits. My weight was gained after my husband deployed and I ate my feelings lol. But I’m back on the wagon and 15 lbs down so the mirena hasn’t gotten in the way of anything.

    Solidarity, sister. Damn deployments.
  • pomegranatecloud
    pomegranatecloud Posts: 812 Member
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    Only if you eat more.
  • Sakura_Tree
    Sakura_Tree Posts: 142 Member
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    When i was on birth control it made me crave junk food all the time and i was always hungry. i stopped taking it after about 7 months because it messed with my mood. I noticed my voracious appetite calmed down after that but i guess everyones body reacts to it differently.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,950 Member
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    Words cannot express how happy I am to be with a man who has had a vasectomy - best bc ever!
  • thelegendofsakura89
    thelegendofsakura89 Posts: 105 Member
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    I personally don't feel like it's had much effect on my weight, though I feel like my last prescription caused me to retain a bit more water (is that possible?).
    Maybe coincidence, but I switched prescriptions and dropped 2.5 lbs that week...
  • summersongfox
    summersongfox Posts: 7 Member
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    If your period is making you sick, the benefits of birth control can be truly life-changing. I went onto birth control for that reason and now find that I am also the anecdotal outlier: I went on birth control and actually LOST a bunch of weight without meaning to. Part of that was a taking a version that didn't quite fit me well, but now that I've been on a version that does fit, I'm still losing weight and I feel SO MUCH BETTER every single month. So, if you are having other issues, I am going to be the person who says it is worth it to try and if the first try doesn't mesh, to try again.

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