Birth Control

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! :)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

I was on the shot for awhile, and I did gain about 5 pounds. But healthy eating and exercise helped a lot!

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.