Birth Control

Heyman09
Heyman09 Posts: 184
in Health and Weight Loss
How many women gained weight with bc?? If I stick to my eating plan and exercise can I beat the birth control weigh gain?
«1

Replies

  • herownkindofwonderfull
    herownkindofwonderfull Posts: 307 Member
    I started my Birth Control (Nuvaring) right when I was starting this program. I honestly saw no gain...

    Just make sure to work out and to drink LOTS OF WATER! Most Birth Control weight gain is caused by water retention.... So eat LESS SODIUM and drink over 8 glasses of water a day, if you can! Also, limit sugar! :)

    Good luck! :):)
  • seekingstrengthX2
    seekingstrengthX2 Posts: 771
    I think it varies by person ... and by the specific drug. I was on birth control for a very long time and actually gained when I finally stopped taking it. LOL. I was on Lo Ovral and never gained, if that helps.
  • rc630
    rc630 Posts: 310 Member
    From what I have read, Oral Contraceptive Pills are no longer linked to weight gain, and are not thought to alter your metabolism in any way. However, there are two ways that you might see a change in weight (usually a gain)

    1. Water weight. Many women say their breasts increase in size and the retain water a bit more easily when on a pill. Then again, most won't mind having their chest get bigger, so that likely isn't something to be worried about. Plus, you are hopefully trying to lose fat, not just anything to make the number on the scale go down, so don't worry too much about a couple of pounds of water weight.

    2. Some women have said the pill affects their moods, and change in mood could lead to change in eating habits (which could lead to weight gain, or maybe loss) If mood changes are interfering with you life and/or dont go away in the first 3 months on the pill, you might want to think about trying a different prescription or different method of BC. However, if you are properly tracking what you eat and eating the right amount fo calories for your goals, this it won't matter.

    EDIT: The birth control shot, I have heard, does have high incidence of weight gain, though I'm not a doctor or researcher, so I can't say what the cause of that might be. What I said above is mainly about pills.
  • tnadanielle
    tnadanielle Posts: 1
    I'm currently on my second round of the depo shot, the first time I was 15 and I gained about 50 pounds in 3 months. This time around I've been using MFP and I've lost 32 pounds. I think it has little to do with the actual shot, and more to do with how/what you're eating.
  • PANZERIA
    PANZERIA Posts: 471 Member
    It varies from person to person. I know I gained a stupid amount of weight on birth control, so I have stopped taking it. My weight is better for it, but I've been with the same guy for 7 years, so I'm not toooooo concerned, lol. We're very safe as it is.

    I find the pill is usually only a 5-10lb weight gain, the depo shot is 20+ pounds, and the inter-uterin device depends on whether or not you take the one with hormones.
  • nakabi
    nakabi Posts: 589 Member
    I think it has little to do with the actual shot, and more to do with how/what you're eating.

    this
  • Emancipated_Tai
    Emancipated_Tai Posts: 751 Member
    I've been on the shot since January. I've lost at least 12 pounds since. The nurse even told me I would gain weight, but this past weekend when I went for another shot the same nurse was surprised I actually lost weight. So I may just depend. Just like anything, you have to control your portions. The birth control itself doesn't make you gain weight. It’s the cravings you get that increase your caloric intake that make you gain weight.
  • aost
    aost Posts: 40 Member
    Im a medical student (soon doctor lol so that might give me some credibility ) and COMPLETELY agree with this.

    And the depo provera (the shot) is very high on progesterone so alot of ppl gain weight but luckily most of it is water weight (but if u can go for IUD or something else )
  • PANZERIA
    PANZERIA Posts: 471 Member
    I'm currently on my second round of the depo shot, the first time I was 15 and I gained about 50 pounds in 3 months. This time around I've been using MFP and I've lost 32 pounds. I think it has little to do with the actual shot, and more to do with how/what you're eating.

    No no. The shot makes you gain the weight. I work out 2 hours a day and eat clean, and when I got it, it made me gain 20lbs in three weeks. That's not normal, lol.

    Everyone I know has gained a stupid amount of weight with it, too.
  • startinganewleaf
    startinganewleaf Posts: 56
    ive been on different birth control pills since i was 16 and i havent gained weight from them, i dont think so anyway!
  • PANZERIA
    PANZERIA Posts: 471 Member
    Im a medical student (soon doctor lol so that might give me some credibility ) and COMPLETELY agree with this.

    And the depo provera (the shot) is very high on progesterone so alot of ppl gain weight but luckily most of it is water weight (but if u can go for IUD or something else )

    WOO! GO DOC!!!! =D
  • Aviendha_RJ
    Aviendha_RJ Posts: 600 Member
    Really? I've been on the pill since I was 14 (started taking it to control acne back then), & I've lost about 20lbs already...

    I haven't seen any problems associated with taking BCP. Then again, I've been taking it for 15 years, & I didn't gain a POUND till after my Mom died. So.....

    I think it's purely individual.
  • still_crafty
    still_crafty Posts: 682 Member
    I gained some, not much, when I stopped taking the pill about a year ago. My sister has the Merena IUD and swears by that thing. She didn't gain any weight with it and she says it makes her monthly time much easier to deal with.
  • beccadaniixox
    beccadaniixox Posts: 542 Member
    There is no proof that birth control causes weight gain.
    The only birth control that has proof for weight gain is the depo shot if I recall correctly.

    I've been on BC since the 7th grade and I didn't gain a ton of weight because of the pill - I just ate a lot. Lol.
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
    From what I have read, Oral Contraceptive Pills are no longer linked to weight gain, and are not thought to alter your metabolism in any way. However, there are two ways that you might see a change in weight (usually a gain)

    1. Water weight. Many women say their breasts increase in size and the retain water a bit more easily when on a pill. Then again, most won't mind having their chest get bigger, so that likely isn't something to be worried about. Plus, you are hopefully trying to lose fat, not just anything to make the number on the scale go down, so don't worry too much about a couple of pounds of water weight.

    2. Some women have said the pill affects their moods, and change in mood could lead to change in eating habits (which could lead to weight gain, or maybe loss) If mood changes are interfering with you life and/or dont go away in the first 3 months on the pill, you might want to think about trying a different prescription or different method of BC. However, if you are properly tracking what you eat and eating the right amount fo calories for your goals, this it won't matter.

    EDIT: The birth control shot, I have heard, does have high incidence of weight gain, though I'm not a doctor or researcher, so I can't say what the cause of that might be. What I said above is mainly about pills.

    The ob I saw after my son was born said that hormonal birth control causes an average weight gain of 3 pounds per year. That is the average weight gain for an average American. But, there are women who do not gain anything and some who gain 15 pounds. Hormonal changes affect the body in different ways, so it's definitely possible to gain weight after starting hormonal birth control.
  • christine24t
    christine24t Posts: 6,063 Member
    My friends on birth control always complain about feeling bloated, but that never really happens for me (I don't take it). I do notice a weight gain but I don't feel it.
  • gumigal82
    gumigal82 Posts: 350
    I was on the shot for awhile, and I did gain about 5 pounds. But healthy eating and exercise helped a lot!
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    13 years on the pill and no weight issues. The Mirena IUD has caused major weight issues, but apparently that is only a problem for fewer than 5% of users. The Depo shot affects about 40% with weight gain and inability to lose.
  • tat2dmrsgrimm
    tat2dmrsgrimm Posts: 226 Member
    In my case, I take BCP more for the fact that it controls my hormones. I have PCOS and luckily just BCP helps me a lot. I know some women who have to do full on Hormone Replacement Therapy. I did have to take Clomid to get pregnant for my second child.

    Sorry, A little off topic there. I have been on BCP for 10 years with the exception of when I was trying to get pregnant and when I was actually pregnant. 8 years ago I lost 30 pounds while taking BCP. So far I have lost 11 pounds in a month since I started tracking what I eat. So my thought and 2 Gyn's told me this (in 2 different states) the OLD birth control, like from 30 years ago DID cause weight gain, most of the stuff out there today DOES NOT cause weight gain. Basically it is an excuse. It may affect you in the first few months that you take it, but after that, no way.
  • rc630
    rc630 Posts: 310 Member
    My friends on birth control always complain about feeling bloated, but that never really happens for me (I don't take it). I do notice a weight gain but I don't feel it.

    I'm confused.. are you saying you don't take birth control so you don't feel the side effects of birth control?
  • beccarockslife
    beccarockslife Posts: 816 Member
    Implanon hasn't affected my weight loss at all.
  • beccarockslife
    beccarockslife Posts: 816 Member
    13 years on the pill and no weight issues. The Mirena IUD has caused major weight issues, but apparently that is only a problem for fewer than 5% of users. The Depo shot affects about 40% with weight gain and inability to lose.

    Depo is evil. It effects bone density too.
  • ZugTheMegasaurus
    ZugTheMegasaurus Posts: 801 Member
    It always helps to research why exactly people experience the weight gain. I was on a medication for a few years (wasn't birth control, and unfortunately ended up being for a condition I never even had) that comes with a warning that it causes obesity and diabetes. That sounds pretty bad, right? Take a pill and gain so much weight that you get a serious illness? Well, my doctor explained that what actually happens is that the medication causes intense cravings for carbohydrates, people don't realize it and overeat, then gain weight. It's technically the pill doing it, but it's not the direct cause; suddenly eating a lot more is. For whatever reason, this is never publicized, just the warning. I've talked to a number of people who were also on it, and none of them had ever heard it, but all had noticed the cravings.

    I guess what I'm saying is that the end result might not be enough information. People who are on birth control and gain might be affected by it, but it's not necessarily just that one thing that's doing it; it's probably a number of factors (though some people do seem to have a bad reaction to some forms, it's rarer than many are afraid of).
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    13 years on the pill and no weight issues. The Mirena IUD has caused major weight issues, but apparently that is only a problem for fewer than 5% of users. The Depo shot affects about 40% with weight gain and inability to lose.

    Depo is evil. It effects bone density too.

    It does even worse than that. I got tired of arguing with people about it when they go on and on and on about how great it is and how people just need to eat less, blah, blah, blah.

    I had one friend on it and she was working her rear off (no pun intended) to lose weight. Tons of exercise, following Weight Watchers perfectly and could NOT lose at all. It went on for a good year and she finally got off the shot and got a copper IUD and started losing.

    My best friend went into menopause at 28 years old because of the shot, plus she had bone loss and kept getting benign lumps in her breasts that doctors said were a direct result of the shot. I've also heard of some studies from nurse friends that don't get talked about much that are very scary from that shot. My own doctor refuses to even prescribe it (not that I would want it, but it came up when we were discussing changing my BC and I told her point blank that I wouldn't get the shot).

    It's awful, awful, awful.

    *steps down from soap box*
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    How many women gained weight with bc?? If I stick to my eating plan and exercise can I beat the birth control weigh gain?
    I tracked my calories (fitday) when I got my mirena. I'd been tracking before. I tracked. I ate the same. I was super careful. I gained 7-10 pounds in the first month. Water, I'm sure. I also had other unpleasant effects despite my doctor's assurances. It was a bit like having raging PMS all the time. I had that dang thing removed. Not a moment too soon.
  • roachhaley
    roachhaley Posts: 978 Member
    I gained weight on it but it was just because I ate more. Not the pill. Still on it and down 21 pounds.
  • jules1202
    jules1202 Posts: 65
    Its amazing when you start reading about the relationship between hormones and metabolism and how your body operates. But that being said everyone still reacts different to the introduction of synthetic hormones in BC.

    I gained 5 pounds on the pill but part of the gain is from mood swings that put me in that "PMS want to eat chocolate" state and some of it may have been from bloating. Every time I have to double my pill (to stop bleeding issues) I start having horrible "I want to eat junk food" cravings. I hate it!
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    Im a medical student (soon doctor lol so that might give me some credibility ) and COMPLETELY agree with this.

    And the depo provera (the shot) is very high on progesterone so alot of ppl gain weight but luckily most of it is water weight (but if u can go for IUD or something else )
    Depo is high in PROGESTINS. Not Progesterone. :-) (Getting you in a good habit early... using the terms for the synthetics...) Mirena the IUD has progestins as well...just saying. Good luck with the rest of med school! That's a ton of work.
  • ZugTheMegasaurus
    ZugTheMegasaurus Posts: 801 Member
    How many women gained weight with bc?? If I stick to my eating plan and exercise can I beat the birth control weigh gain?
    I tracked my calories (fitday) when I got my mirena. I'd been tracking before. I tracked. I ate the same. I was super careful. I gained 7-10 pounds in the first month. I also had other unpleasant effects despite my doctor's assurances. I had that dang thing removed. Not a moment too soon.
    It's weird, Mirena is one of those things people either absolutely love or absolutely hate. I've had one for a while now, and I think it's great; never have to worry about messing it up and I haven't had a period in more than three years. But I've come across a lot of people who have horrible reactions to it. I wonder what's going on there.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    How many women gained weight with bc?? If I stick to my eating plan and exercise can I beat the birth control weigh gain?
    I tracked my calories (fitday) when I got my mirena. I'd been tracking before. I tracked. I ate the same. I was super careful. I gained 7-10 pounds in the first month. I also had other unpleasant effects despite my doctor's assurances. I had that dang thing removed. Not a moment too soon.
    It's weird, Mirena is one of those things people either absolutely love or absolutely hate. I've had one for a while now, and I think it's great; never have to worry about messing it up and I haven't had a period in more than three years. But I've come across a lot of people who have horrible reactions to it. I wonder what's going on there.

    I'm actually in the middle. The only side effect I've had is weight gain and a complete inability to lose it. But I LOVE that it cost me $25 for five years (copay), barely any period at all and I don't have to think about it. Everything but the weight thing has been great, which is why I haven't had it removed. I don't have a lot of choices at the moment.

Categories