Weight gain and the contraceptive pill...advice please?

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  • branflakes1980
    branflakes1980 Posts: 2,516 Member
    I was on the pill for years. I didn't think it effected my weight at all until I stopped taking it. Within 4 months of being off of the pill I lost 22 pounds. I then got pregnant and gained that and some back, but I felt better being off of it, my skin looked better, I had less headaches etc. After my daughter was born I needed to do something but did not want to go back on the pill. I got an IUD that is hormone free and its wonderful.
  • AAllen1965
    AAllen1965 Posts: 8
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Hang on you asked for suggestions because you weren't being successful losing weight and you were "losing the will" and yet you are only happy with those who share their story of pill= weight gain which reinforces that you have something external to blame

    I do apologise, I didn't realise that I wasn't supposed to challenge your overly judgemental opinions of me and my lifestyle, made without any knowledge of who I am and what I do.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited November 2014
    AAllen1965 wrote: »
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Hang on you asked for suggestions because you weren't being successful losing weight and you were "losing the will" and yet you are only happy with those who share their story of pill= weight gain which reinforces that you have something external to blame

    I do apologise, I didn't realise that I wasn't supposed to challenge your overly judgemental opinions of me and my lifestyle, made without any knowledge of who I am and what I do.

    Take offence if you wish, but none was meant. So I'll just reiterate this part of what I said then, the part of my quote you edited out...and confirm that I really have no feelings about you or your lifestyle whatsoever.

    "'Yes you sound amazing and fit and totally capable (I could never run a marathon and I don't cook for a competitive swimmer with years of nutrition training)but we are not competing against each other, only against ourselves

    I'm sorry you're unhappy but your choice is to either do something about it or don't ...nobody said this was easy but neither is being overweight - we all have reasons / we all have excuses it's only we stop making our own excuses and focus on the simple rule of CICO, however we want to reach that, that we lose

    Good luck on your journey"

  • AAllen1965
    AAllen1965 Posts: 8
    branflakes1980 wrote: »
    I was on the pill for years. I didn't think it effected my weight at all until I stopped taking it. Within 4 months of being off of the pill I lost 22 pounds. I then got pregnant and gained that and some back, but I felt better being off of it, my skin looked better, I had less headaches etc. After my daughter was born I needed to do something but did not want to go back on the pill. I got an IUD that is hormone free and its wonderful.

    Thank you for sharing your experience - I too had a similar experience years ago with the Mirena coil which is the same hormone as the mini pill - headaches, low mood, poor skin and hair and weight gain (again). I had it removed after 18 months as I felt it was having a negative effect on my wellbeing and hence why I felt that the mini pill was doing the same.

  • AAllen1965
    AAllen1965 Posts: 8
    esjones12 wrote: »
    Talk to your doctor. I've heard different pills and hormone combinations can effect women differently. I've never experienced weight issues with mine and I've been on it for 6 years.

    Best of luck!!

    Thank you, I have an appointment with the gynae consultant next week so will speak to him then.

  • yesimpson
    yesimpson Posts: 1,372 Member
    I think it's more that the pill affects hormones which affect appetite/energy levels. I actually found that when I switched from Microgynon (not because I thought it was making me fat, but because it gave me massive spots and made me feel like I was possessed by a murderous rage demon) to Cilest I lost weight, because it took away the hormonal food cravings and the horrendous periods which left me basically bedridden for a week per month - so a lot less chocolate scoffing and a lot more activity.
  • PeterSedesse
    PeterSedesse Posts: 124
    All of the scientific evidence says that there is no effect on weight gain from taking BCP. Studies have been done on thousands of women and the % of women who gain weight is equal the to the % of women who gain weight without taking the pill. These studies would include water retention, chemical changes and as people talked about in this thread, comfort food. The research just doesn´t support the claim.

    Older forms of the pill, ones high in Estrogen, could sometimes cause weight gain because of water retention, but those are not commonly used anymore for birth control.

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