trouble losing weight on birth control

Has anyone had a really hard time losing weight while on birth control pills? The pounds will not come off and I stay the same weight whether I exercise everyday or never. I'm definitely frustrated. The only time I was ever able to lose weight was when I was off birth control so I'm wondering if anyone has had the same experience.

Replies

  • leahruff
    leahruff Posts: 5 Member
    The exact same thing is happening to me aswell! Eating well and exercising loads and it just doesn't shift.
  • sarah2954
    sarah2954 Posts: 291 Member
    Same here. I'll never take hormones again. We can suffer with condoms :)
  • I have the same problem, so I quit taking them. good luck!
  • skonly
    skonly Posts: 371
    I stopped hormone therapy and the weight is basically coming off with little effort. I eat very little processed food and have given up coffee creamer and ketchup. Kind of makes me mad too. Hormones were supposed to help, they didn't and I gained weight.

    Oh well, live and learn I guess.
  • haylz247
    haylz247 Posts: 435
    try cerazette. it's progestogen only. i'm losing weight on it :)
  • mushroomcup
    mushroomcup Posts: 145 Member
    Which birth control do you use? I've been taking Yaz for years and it's never caused me any issues with weight loss, but I'm thinking about changing brand/type next month when I see my doctor.
  • JanelleG0122
    JanelleG0122 Posts: 323 Member
    I am on the depo-provera and have been for about 5 years. At my heaviest I was 240, now i'm down to around 195 ish give or take. It is possible to loose weight while on birth control, you just have to have a lot of will power. Do some research, I heard the regular birth control pills are the hardest to loose weight on. Just got to find out whats best for you!
  • ReinasWrath
    ReinasWrath Posts: 1,173 Member
    Was on them a few years ago and ballooned up (ALTHOUGH I was super unhealthy so I can not blame the pills ) and now have been hoping to get back on them but am afraid they will hinder weight loss. A lot of people say it isn't the actual pills that make you gain and maybe just the increased appetite but I can't say I know either way. I want one that won't make me crazy emotional but also wont stop weight loss (lol having a hard enough time as is right now!!)
  • ReinasWrath
    ReinasWrath Posts: 1,173 Member
    I stopped hormone therapy and the weight is basically coming off with little effort. I eat very little processed food and have given up coffee creamer and ketchup. Kind of makes me mad too. Hormones were supposed to help, they didn't and I gained weight.

    Oh well, live and learn I guess.

    very off topic, but just curious why you gave up ketchup? Not like judging or being a douche at all I just am curious lol
  • madelonism
    madelonism Posts: 292 Member
    ive been on ortho cyclen for 7 months and i gaind 20 pounds when I started, however it was during the holidays so i doubt that has anything to do with it. ive lost almost 70 pounds wile on birth control losing an average of 2.75 pounds per week. I really dont think these effect my weight loss and id rather be fat than pregnant at the moment lol
  • meeka472
    meeka472 Posts: 283 Member
    I'm on Yaz and I haven't had any problems losing weight on it.
  • mushroomcup
    mushroomcup Posts: 145 Member
    I'm on Yaz and I haven't had any problems losing weight on it.

    I just looked it up and apparently Yaz is good for women who have problems with bloating/water retention. It helps prevent it, I guess. What I read said it shouldn't cause a woman to gain weight or prevent her from losing, but not having the water retention is probably a plus to weight loss since that can be a bummer (and de-motivator).
  • skonly
    skonly Posts: 371
    I stopped hormone therapy and the weight is basically coming off with little effort. I eat very little processed food and have given up coffee creamer and ketchup. Kind of makes me mad too. Hormones were supposed to help, they didn't and I gained weight.

    Oh well, live and learn I guess.

    very off topic, but just curious why you gave up ketchup? Not like judging or being a douche at all I just am curious lol

    I decided to track my foods and see if there was anything to cut out and to get a general idea of what I was eating. Coffee creamer and ketchup seemed to really be adding up in calories. Too much sugar and not enough nutrients to justify it for me. It's not something I'll never have again. But now I just slice a tomato and stick a piece on the fork of what I would have used ketchup on. I did switch to sugar free creamer and that helped. Now I'm just using almond milk. I was having almost 400 calories a day of creamer. lol. So basically those two things stuck out as the worst I was doing in my diet. I'm so restricted on foods due to health reasons I didn't have much to cut back on. Not liking the coffee though. I will probably pick up some sugar free creamer at the store. The creamer is my addiction.
  • KatiD83
    KatiD83 Posts: 152 Member
    I'm down 80 lbs and I've been on Loestrin for years. Never had any trouble losing weight.
  • Louise1247
    Louise1247 Posts: 670 Member
    its been proven that it only affects water weight- and only by 1-5lbs - im on the pill and it only drops my weigh 2lbs when i come off
  • berlynn_j
    berlynn_j Posts: 299 Member
    Never had a problem whatsoever with birth control and losing weight. I take them for a medical condition (as well as birth control) so to stop taking them isn't an option so I guess it is good it doesn't effect me. Maybe you should consider switching to something different.
  • PuggleLover
    PuggleLover Posts: 261 Member
    How are people still taking Yaz - there's a widespread recall on it! It's banned in my OB/GYN office... Yaz, Yazmine and one other sister med. Deaths, stroke and blood clots are a high risk, not just a risk.
  • icemaiden17_uk
    icemaiden17_uk Posts: 463 Member
    I am on the depo-provera and have been for about 5 years. At my heaviest I was 240, now i'm down to around 195 ish give or take. It is possible to loose weight while on birth control, you just have to have a lot of will power. Do some research, I heard the regular birth control pills are the hardest to loose weight on. Just got to find out whats best for you!

    I gained 3 stone in 3 months on depo! There is no pill or jab that will work for everyone! All of us are different! I work in family planning and I see loads of people on different pills or jabs etc with different problems accorss the board! Try fiddling with your pill and see if that helps! I can't have anything hormonal at all because of the side effects but others have no problems at all! Trial and error are the only ways to get it sorted but you will need to be on any new meds for at least 3 months to see any changes!

    Good luck!!
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,605 Member
    I've found the opposite. I was on cerazette. Came off, and found it harder to lose. I do think there's a correlation...
  • skonly
    skonly Posts: 371
    I am on the depo-provera and have been for about 5 years. At my heaviest I was 240, now i'm down to around 195 ish give or take. It is possible to loose weight while on birth control, you just have to have a lot of will power. Do some research, I heard the regular birth control pills are the hardest to loose weight on. Just got to find out whats best for you!

    I gained 3 stone in 3 months on depo! There is no pill or jab that will work for everyone! All of us are different! I work in family planning and I see loads of people on different pills or jabs etc with different problems accorss the board! Try fiddling with your pill and see if that helps! I can't have anything hormonal at all because of the side effects but others have no problems at all! Trial and error are the only ways to get it sorted but you will need to be on any new meds for at least 3 months to see any changes!

    Good luck!!

    Smartest answer I've ever seen. I had to go on them for medical reasons. After 4 years of hell I got off. Things will be a lot different for women needing hormone therapy because their bodies are not doing what they should. Hormones are damn hard to control when there is a problem. I had no idea any of this would happen. So I ignore all the young one who read their insert and know everything. They can call me when they hit menopause and let me how things are going. lol.
  • dlcam61
    dlcam61 Posts: 228 Member
    Depends on which bc pill you are on, how much you exercise, how much you exert yourself when you exercise (for instance, walking isn't very challenging to me but high intensity zumba or circuit training makes me pant & sweat) and it depends on your diet. If you think all is where it should be, print out your mfp log for 2 weeks of food & exercise and take it to your physician. They might be able to tell you what to do. Make sure you track your carbs & proteins as well as sugar & sodium.

    FYI all bc pills can cause blood clots, strokes, etc. Whenever you alter your body's hormones it raises this risk. I have know then since I was 15 and I am 35. This so called recall is based on the fact that the makers of Yaz, Yasmin etc didn't disclose this info as clearly as they should have. I used yasmin in my 20's and I'm alive and well. I also took other bc hormones. Yaz is also known for being a progesterone hormone replacement alternative to just prescribing progesterone because some insurance companies cover bc not hormone replacement drugs. So, anyone that is taking any type of hormone replacement such as estrogen, progesterone, etc is at risk regardless if it's birth control or hormone replacement therapy.

    Hope you get your weight loss issue figured out. I know personally my problem was high carbs & high sugars. I started losing when I cut them back. Then I had to add more lean protein & remove artificial sweeteners. Splenda, Equal etc & sugar alcohols. They are endocrine disruptrs & made me retain fat.

    Good luck!! :flowerforyou: If I didn't scare you away you can add me too lol
  • mushroomcup
    mushroomcup Posts: 145 Member
    How are people still taking Yaz - there's a widespread recall on it! It's banned in my OB/GYN office... Yaz, Yazmine and one other sister med. Deaths, stroke and blood clots are a high risk, not just a risk.

    Yeah, it's why I'm switching next month. I think I'm low risk since I'm young, healthy weight, don't smoke, etc. But still, I think you have a point. I'm considering switching to Ortho Tri-Cyclen. It's half the price and seems a less risky option.
  • dlcam61
    dlcam61 Posts: 228 Member
    How are people still taking Yaz - there's a widespread recall on it! It's banned in my OB/GYN office... Yaz, Yazmine and one other sister med. Deaths, stroke and blood clots are a high risk, not just a risk.

    Yeah, it's why I'm switching next month. I think I'm low risk since I'm young, healthy weight, don't smoke, etc. But still, I think you have a point. I'm considering switching to Ortho Tri-Cyclen. It's half the price and seems a less risky option.

    All hormone treatments are risky. Talk it over with your GYN :flowerforyou:
  • icemaiden17_uk
    icemaiden17_uk Posts: 463 Member
    I am on the depo-provera and have been for about 5 years. At my heaviest I was 240, now i'm down to around 195 ish give or take. It is possible to loose weight while on birth control, you just have to have a lot of will power. Do some research, I heard the regular birth control pills are the hardest to loose weight on. Just got to find out whats best for you!

    I gained 3 stone in 3 months on depo! There is no pill or jab that will work for everyone! All of us are different! I work in family planning and I see loads of people on different pills or jabs etc with different problems accorss the board! Try fiddling with your pill and see if that helps! I can't have anything hormonal at all because of the side effects but others have no problems at all! Trial and error are the only ways to get it sorted but you will need to be on any new meds for at least 3 months to see any changes!

    Good luck!!

    Smartest answer I've ever seen. I had to go on them for medical reasons. After 4 years of hell I got off. Things will be a lot different for women needing hormone therapy because their bodies are not doing what they should. Hormones are damn hard to control when there is a problem. I had no idea any of this would happen. So I ignore all the young one who read their insert and know everything. They can call me when they hit menopause and let me how things are going. lol.

    Wow! Thanks for that!! Hormones are very funny things!! I thought all was well until I gained all that weight without changing my diet or excersise and then I turned into a screaming loon as well!! I have just cut down my dairy and cut out all lactose and my hormones are miles better with that as well! It is so funny the things that affect us in strange ways!!

    So not looking forward to menopause though! A lot of the girls I work with are suffering at the moment and it does seem awful! They are trying to lose weight as well and really struggling! I really do believe that experamentation is key in everything! Diet, Birth Control, excersise, everything!!

    Good luck with all your journies ladies! :flowerforyou:
  • mushroomcup
    mushroomcup Posts: 145 Member
    How are people still taking Yaz - there's a widespread recall on it! It's banned in my OB/GYN office... Yaz, Yazmine and one other sister med. Deaths, stroke and blood clots are a high risk, not just a risk.

    Yeah, it's why I'm switching next month. I think I'm low risk since I'm young, healthy weight, don't smoke, etc. But still, I think you have a point. I'm considering switching to Ortho Tri-Cyclen. It's half the price and seems a less risky option.

    All hormone treatments are risky. Talk it over with your GYN :flowerforyou:

    I definitely agree. However, some BC pills are more risky than others (depending on which hormones are in them). If my doctor tells me I should stay on Yaz, that's probably what I'll do, but it's pretty durn expensive and getting very bad press right now. Plus, I think Yaz is rather recent as far as BC pills go. I'd rather go with a drug that's been on the market for a long time since it's more likely that any negative long-term affects will be known by now. Meds are never risk free and I don't want to freak b/c of all the horror stories when generally they're rare, so I know what you're saying.
  • PuggleLover
    PuggleLover Posts: 261 Member
    How are people still taking Yaz - there's a widespread recall on it! It's banned in my OB/GYN office... Yaz, Yazmine and one other sister med. Deaths, stroke and blood clots are a high risk, not just a risk.

    Yeah, it's why I'm switching next month. I think I'm low risk since I'm young, healthy weight, don't smoke, etc. But still, I think you have a point. I'm considering switching to Ortho Tri-Cyclen. It's half the price and seems a less risky option.

    All hormone treatments are risky. Talk it over with your GYN :flowerforyou:

    I definitely agree. However, some BC pills are more risky than others (depending on which hormones are in them). If my doctor tells me I should stay on Yaz, that's probably what I'll do, but it's pretty durn expensive and getting very bad press right now. Plus, I think Yaz is rather recent as far as BC pills go. I'd rather go with a drug that's been on the market for a long time since it's more likely that any negative long-term affects will be known by now. Meds are never risk free and I don't want to freak b/c of all the horror stories when generally they're rare, so I know what you're saying.

    My health insurance won't cover it because so many people have died from it. They runs ads here on TV non-stop about joining a class action law suit for families of dead victims.
  • madamepsychosis
    madamepsychosis Posts: 472 Member
    I've been on the combined pill since I was 18 and it's not affected my weight in any way. Crappy food choices and a lack of exercise stalled any prospects for weight loss. Exercising and eating well helped me lose around 30lbs overall. Birth control really didn't come into it.
  • lornaloo3
    lornaloo3 Posts: 102
    I lost about 50 pounds in 2007 and regained 20 of them due to birth control. I went off the birth control and I guess I was too discouraged to lose the pounds again. It felt like pushing a boulder back up a hill. The rest of the weight crept back on gradually.