Quitting Birth Control Pills.

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inspiration345
inspiration345 Posts: 218 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have a serious suspicion that I am having weight issues because of my birth control pills. I started about two and a half years ago and went from a nice 130 lbs to 160 lbs. I tried dieting and exercising several times in the course of time. Now I have been logging on MFP for 45 days and maybe this is the longest time I have been strict with myself. I have gotten some results but I am not very pleased because I net 1500 calories a day on average. What makes me absolutely jealous is that I take care of a 90 years old woman sitting on a wheel chair all day and she eats 1500 calories a day every day (lots of milk, butter, bread, nuts and some cookies or icecream) and is the same weight as me. She doesn't gain. She is totally amazing. Has a huge appetite :). Life is so unfair sometimes. I know people are different but I can't figure this out for myself other than blaming it on my pills. I exercise very hard and my job requires a lot of standing, moving and lifting. I talked with my boyfriend today to quit the pills for three months and see how that goes. I am hoping the pounds start shredding themselves after this.
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Replies

  • Nikki582
    Nikki582 Posts: 561 Member
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    Quitting birth control was the best thing I did for my weight, my moods and mental health and my family.

    Good on you... those little pills are evil!
  • LemonSocks
    LemonSocks Posts: 238 Member
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    I don't think it's the birth control pill. You said yourself that 45 days is the longest you've ever stayed accountable and that you have been getting results from sticking with it. Give it more time and stick with it. If you want to quit the pill then by all means go ahead, but I will say that if you stick with healthy eating and exercise the weight will come off regardless of whether you are on the pill or not.
  • strawberryshortbread
    strawberryshortbread Posts: 77 Member
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    I totally agree i was on contaceptive pill for years and was absolutely fine, i had a break for a couple of years then went back on them. I'm not sure what happened in that break but my body hated them! i put on loads of weight, my mood was terrible, depression, i felt tired all the time and really lethargic and not to mention the lack of sex drive!!! I have come back off them and already i notice a difference in how i feel. I no longer feel fed up and i'm looking froward to the weight loss been help along a little by not popping these little pills!

    Good Luck to you xx
  • lookitscaitlin
    lookitscaitlin Posts: 157
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    I take birth control pills, but I know for me, that it didn't assist me in gaining weight (I blame the ice cream ;) ) Some people do get side affects like gaining weight, this may have happened for you, but it sounds like you aren't all that overweight and possibly don't have a whole lot to lose, so it might take a little longer for you to lose it. I am 102 kgs, (was 104.9 2 weeks ago yay!) so I am overweight and I have a lot of weight to lose so I guess it wouldn't take as long as you, but when I get down to a certain weight, say 80 kgs, it might take a bit longer to shed the weight I want to get to my goal weight, which would be a healthy weight for me. So don't stress, eat healthy and exercise regularly :) also lot's of water, and extra weight should come off, but don't just depend on weight, look at measurements too, because you might have muscle gain. Good luck!
  • sesefeeney
    sesefeeney Posts: 71 Member
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    birth control pills actually helped me lose weight. it was the constant migrianes, mood swings, recurrent thrush and most of all cysts that made me quit. it may be the birth control but only to a very little extent. Also for you to compare your weight loss to a granny in a wheel chair and say your life is unfair sounds.....to be honest silly and just plain childish. most of us gain weight because of over indulgence and lazyness. dont blame the world for your problems, its a weakness. take responsbiblity for your problems
  • misslouisee
    misslouisee Posts: 73 Member
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    I've quit the pill, but not because of my weight. I was slowly losing weight before quitting and am still slowly losing weight afterwards. It's made no difference to me! Don't quit them JUST because of the weight because I've only got better since exercising regularly and sticking at the diet.
  • iwanttochangemylife
    iwanttochangemylife Posts: 19
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    I had the same problem. It's def the pills. My solution was to switch pills. The pills I take now don't do that to my body. Before I gained weight then it was impossible for me to lose. Now I can lose normally and still be baby free. :)
  • babbityboo
    babbityboo Posts: 98 Member
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    I spoke to my doctor about a similar thing. She said it's not that birth control pills make you put on weight, they can increase your appetite. She said they shouldn't cause weight gain if you just keep eating sensibly, exercise and drink plenty of water, to help reduce water retention.

    I know they're not for everybody, I've had to change a couple of times because of migraines and mood swings.

    Good luck! xx
  • lookitscaitlin
    lookitscaitlin Posts: 157
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    I had the same problem. It's def the pills. My solution was to switch pills.

    yeah, it may be the pills reacting to your body, i took a different brand a few years ago, it made my period go on way past a week, i stopped that pill, period stopped and went back to my normal ones, and been fine ever since :)
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
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    It's been 45 days.. hence a little over a month.. You didn't gain this weight over night, you're not going to lose it over night.. Hate to tell you honey. Plus you can not compare your self to an elderly woman... There is obviously a big difference in metabolism, calories needed, foods needed etc.

    I personally say stick with the birth control a little longer and see what happens.. Most BC's don't make you gain actual weight.. it's just water weight, and thats only in the beginning. I personally lost 27 pounds with my BC, so it can be done.. but only if you are eating right, exercising(cardio/weights) and not stressing out about everything.

    Also since you exercise, and stand/move and lift a lot, are you eating enough? Sometimes that can be the problem too. I'd consider putting your activity level at lightly active, and see if that helps.
  • amaion17
    amaion17 Posts: 27 Member
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    birth control pills actually helped me lose weight. it was the constant migrianes, mood swings, recurrent thrush and most of all cysts that made me quit. it may be the birth control but only to a very little extent. Also for you to compare your weight loss to a granny in a wheel chair and say your life is unfair sounds.....to be honest silly and just plain childish. most of us gain weight because of over indulgence and lazyness. dont blame the world for your problems, its a weakness. take responsbiblity for your problems

    right on!
  • dianeellen2
    dianeellen2 Posts: 259 Member
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    Quitting birth control was the best thing I did for my weight, my moods and mental health and my family.

    Good on you... those little pills are evil!

    I would urge you to speak to your doctor - i had the same problem but was moved to Yasmin and they are brill. I lost about a stone in 6 months without trying and now i am having a concerted effort and the weight is coming off at 1 - 2 lbs a week
  • inspiration345
    inspiration345 Posts: 218 Member
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    Thanks for your replies everyone. Some tough love too :).I will go off for a month and see if it changes things and go from there. I haven't had my periods in all this time so I kind of miss that too and sometimes I get so bloated that I look pregnant so I have a pregnancy kit in my home all the time to make sure I didn't get pregnant. After my experiment I will have to talk to my doctor about other options because she wasn't concerned about the weight gain.
  • Nikki582
    Nikki582 Posts: 561 Member
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    Quitting birth control was the best thing I did for my weight, my moods and mental health and my family.

    Good on you... those little pills are evil!

    I would urge you to speak to your doctor - i had the same problem but was moved to Yasmin and they are brill. I lost about a stone in 6 months without trying and now i am having a concerted effort and the weight is coming off at 1 - 2 lbs a week
    All good, the husband had the snip-snip so there's no need for any evil synthetic hormones in my body any more :D
  • inspiration345
    inspiration345 Posts: 218 Member
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    [/quote]
    All good, the husband had the snip-snip so there's no need for any evil synthetic hormones in my body any more :D
    [/quote]
    Haha good idea but the bf wouldn't listen. We don't have kids but don't plan to have one either but the decision is not permanent.
  • kschr201
    kschr201 Posts: 219 Member
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    I spoke to my doctor about a similar thing. She said it's not that birth control pills make you put on weight, they can increase your appetite. She said they shouldn't cause weight gain if you just keep eating sensibly, exercise and drink plenty of water, to help reduce water retention.

    I know they're not for everybody, I've had to change a couple of times because of migraines and mood swings.

    Good luck! xx

    My Dr. said the same. Your appetite can increase and water retention caused by the pills. I switched pills and notice the appetite increase still but not to the extent of the first pills that I took.
  • inspiration345
    inspiration345 Posts: 218 Member
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    I am off my pills Yaz. It's just been 2 days now and I am shredding a lot of water weight now.I will update in a month how much I lost.
  • cramernh
    cramernh Posts: 3,335 Member
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    Quitting birth control was the best thing I did for my weight, my moods and mental health and my family.

    Good on you... those little pills are evil!

    I would urge you to speak to your doctor - i had the same problem but was moved to Yasmin and they are brill. I lost about a stone in 6 months without trying and now i am having a concerted effort and the weight is coming off at 1 - 2 lbs a week

    Ive been on the generic of Yasmin, called Ocella now for a few years. In conjunction with reduction in dairy, going low-carb under the advice of two specialty physicians, I seem to have unlocked the door to losing weight... In FIVE weeks I have dropped 13.4 pounds!!!!

    Like another poster mentions, talk with your doctor - perhaps this might not be the right BCP for your body... Also, share your food-diary and exercise-diary from MFP with your doctors too... perhaps you have other things going on that you might not be aware of?
  • maryrunslikeafox
    maryrunslikeafox Posts: 136 Member
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    I am off my pills Yaz. It's just been 2 days now and I am shredding a lot of water weight now.I will update in a month how much I lost.

    Yaz is evil! I was on it for about 2 years and it made me crazy! Super moody, crying all the time... I switched to ortho tri cylen and it's not evil at all!
  • scarletleavy
    scarletleavy Posts: 841 Member
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    Quitting birth control was the best thing I did for my weight, my moods and mental health and my family.

    Good on you... those little pills are evil!

    Completely agree!

    Birth control pills can affect individuals in completely different ways. If they're not working for you, you should either switch pills or stop taking them.

    I stopped taking them after I almost landed in the hospital with serious circulation issues, developed blood clots in my ankles and legs. It was one of the scariest things that's happened to me. After that, no hormonal contraceptives ever again.

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