Does birth control make it harder to lose weight?

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  • stephaniepaigegreenwood
    stephaniepaigegreenwood Posts: 14
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    thanks for the answers! I'll definitely talk to my doctor to get his opinion.
  • k8blujay2
    k8blujay2 Posts: 4,941 Member
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    While I know exactly what kinds I gain weight on... I know the one that I am on right now doesn't cause me to gain weight, but it makes it a bit harder to lose.
  • MaryJane_8810002
    MaryJane_8810002 Posts: 2,082 Member
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    My sister was on Depo and had a hard time trying to lose weight.
  • YoungMamiiOf4
    YoungMamiiOf4 Posts: 2
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    Different strokes for different folks. For example some people lose weight on Mirena - I gained 14 lbs in 3 weeks. ho hum.

    i gained 20lbs in 3 weeks...doc said he never heard of it..i said yes because i didnt all of a sudden start eating like a pig lol..mine is now removed!
  • carfamily08
    carfamily08 Posts: 179
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    I believe it. I just don't do well with hormonal birth control overall. Not only does it cause weight gain (or at the very least, the inability to lose much of anything) it makes me really moody too. I have a paraguard now (non-hormonal IUD) and it's awesome. I've lost almost 40lbs on it, no mood swings, my periods are fine (I heard so many horror stories about the periods but so far, knock on wood, I haven't had that - but I'm still nursing so I may after I wean, eek!) Overall though I plan to avoid hormonal bc for the rest of my life. It's just not a good mix for me.
  • babydiego87
    babydiego87 Posts: 905 Member
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    I hope not...Just started Yasmin today.
  • ShannonKelliG
    ShannonKelliG Posts: 70 Member
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    I think it depends on the type. Right now I have mirena and I've lost 30 lbs since having it placed and continuing to lose.
  • sandrarflanagan
    sandrarflanagan Posts: 14
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    I read this artical on webMD stating that birth control can cause water weight gain. Hoever it goes away.
  • Doctorpurple
    Doctorpurple Posts: 507 Member
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    Birth control pills make someone hungrier that is why it can cause weight gain. That's all it does. It does not make someone gain weight without eating more than usual. If you are exercising and tracking your calories accurately. Birth control pills should not inhibit you from losing weight.
  • jennaworksout
    jennaworksout Posts: 1,739 Member
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    for me yes, every time I went on the pill I gained 10 pounds easy....as soon as I went off, lost it...everyone is different but I defenitly think it can put weight on some people. thats why I am not on it anymore

    Yazmin was the worst for me...marvelon was the best one I used , least amount of weight gain on that one
  • Tigg1011
    Tigg1011 Posts: 146
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    Yes. I recently switched to generess fe from lo-loestrin because my migraines were increasing and becoming worse. I have now been on generess for 2 weeks and have gained 5 lbs, I eat clean and exercise regularly. Ive been on bc for more than 10 yrs and have never gained weight on any pill except this one. Also switching from lo-loestrin which has 10mcg of estrogen to generess which has 25mcg of estrogen means its a higher dose obviously-I know my body needs to adjust, however once I am done this pack, I am going back to the original loestrin fe where I had no side effects.
  • thisismeraw
    thisismeraw Posts: 1,264 Member
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    A little over two weeks ago I've started birth control (Generess Fe), and I just keep gaining weight! I'm not really hungrier or anything, and I'm still doing everything the same (if anything I'm eating less). I log everything so it must be water weight, I hope so anyways (can it slow down your metabolism?). If I don't lose it by the time I get my period I might just stop taking it, I've already gained over two pounds doing nothing out of the ordinary! If I gain weight I'd rather do so from shoving my face with cake, not taking a tiny pill every day .-.

    Don't stop taking it after a month. It takes your body at least three months to get used to a new pill.

    OP, birth control can make it a bit harder but it won't actually stop you from losing fat... nor will it actually make you gain fat. A pill cannot magically put fat on your body.

    The only way the pill will make you gain is it can increase your appetite causing you to eat more, cause you to retain water, or cause you to feel more tired than normal which may cause you to not exercise as hard/long/as often. If you change nothing at all you will not gain fat weight regardless of the pill you are on.

    It can take your body three to six months to get used to a new BC. Ensuring you are taking it at the exact same time each day will keep the hormones level and your body will get used to it quicker.
  • lee91356
    lee91356 Posts: 330 Member
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    for me over time it effected my hormones and my pms. i have had the mirena for over a year (after being on yasmin/ ocella for over 7 years) and when i first started losing weight I didnt have issues with it but now that I have lost a lot of weight its been effecting me, the week before my period i'm constantly hungry and eat anything thats not nailed down. my weight stalls during that time and sometimes the scale does in fact inch up a bit, however, generally within the first few days after my period I lose my crazy snacking and my excess weight and the scale goes back to normal. so perhaps your body is transitioning and changing and you need to make some changes to your diet, exercise to shake things up. Sometimes I eat more than my calories (like during the time of the month) and I have yet to see my weight adversely effected by it. Or maybe like other suggest takes a excersice rest day if you work out all the time or change up the exercise. See if any of that makes a difference. Then if nothing else you know it may be the BC.
  • EverythingIsTakenAgain
    EverythingIsTakenAgain Posts: 19 Member
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    A little over two weeks ago I've started birth control (Generess Fe), and I just keep gaining weight! I'm not really hungrier or anything, and I'm still doing everything the same (if anything I'm eating less). I log everything so it must be water weight, I hope so anyways (can it slow down your metabolism?). If I don't lose it by the time I get my period I might just stop taking it, I've already gained over two pounds doing nothing out of the ordinary! If I gain weight I'd rather do so from shoving my face with cake, not taking a tiny pill every day .-.

    I gained weight like crazy while I was on Generess Fe...about 15 lbs. I was running about 20+ miles per week, doing P90X 6 days per week, and eating pretty well. My eating habbits did not change, and no matter how hard I worked out, I kept gaining weight. I had other side effects as well. I changed to Nuva Ring and lost 7 lbs the first week. Seriously. And I was on Generess Fe for 10 months, so my body had plenty of time to get used to it. I also gained the weight in my stomach area, which I had never done before...still trying to get rid of that fat.
  • christinet2013
    christinet2013 Posts: 6 Member
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    If you had asked me a few years ago, I would have said "absolutely not." HOWEVER, last year I switched birth control pills from Seasonique which was crazy expensive under my insurance to Altavera which was super cheap and supposedly the same chemically. I almost immediately hit a plateau in my weight loss. Then my weight started creeping up. Over 6 months I gained about 13 pounds which was ridiculous since my diet had not changed at all and I had added in a lot of exercise. Everyone told me it was probably muscle weight gain, but my measurements didn't show that. My clothes fit tighter and I just felt heavier.

    I never believed the whole "BC makes you fat" thing so I didn't even think to change that. I went to the doctor for every test under the sun. Everything came back perfect - thyroid running slightly high (I should have been losing). I was eating well and chugging water, but I was still gaining.

    The pill was the last thing for me to try and change. I changed my pill mid January back to Seasonique and have already lost 6 pounds without changing a thing diet/exercise wise. It was like I flipped a switch and my body finally started to see that I was doing good things for it. I definitely think the more expensive pill is worth it now....no complaints here!

    So I guess my answer is "It depends on the specific pill and how it works with your specific body." Ive been on about 10 different types of pills in my life and only one cause any type of change in my weight.

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