Birth Control and Weight Maintenance, is it possible????? Help svp

okay so, I have been on birth control for the past few years becuz I had really bad periods, just to fill yall in.

and last march I joined calorie count because my doctor told me i needed to lose weight. I was still on birth control, and I had been using calorie count for 8 weeks with no change in weight, even though I had drastically cut my calories like my doctor reccomended. I figured the only linking factor that it could be was the birth control. So I stopped using it and a few months later I began to lose weight.

I ended up losing 14lbs and even though I wasnt at the weight that the Tanita print out said I should be, my doctor said my body probably just couldnt pass the 130 mark and that it was a healthy weight for my body. I was very happy with my body at this weight and I had maintained that weight from July till late December.

This past december I went in to the gyn and decided that to be safe and regulate everything that I should start birth control again. She told me to take yaz because I had been on yasmin in the past and If i didnt have side effects on that one than this was even better because it was the same think but a lower dose. I started to gain weight in the next few weeks. I had thought at first that it was just the extra holiday pounds. But when i got back to school and started eating healthier and watching my calories, I still didn't notice any weight loss. I actually ended up gaining 11lbs!!! There is no way I gained 11lbs on my own so the birth control has to be the factor, right?

 The main reason I think this is because when I took birth control in high school, I just stayed the same weight but i also worked out intensively 5 days a week for fall and spring sports. Then in college when I finally stopped taking the BC last April I began to lose weight that I had always had, even though I wasnt doing nearly as much exercise as i had in high school. 

The main dilemna I have here is that I would like to be on birth control but i don't know if it is worth it if it is making me gain weight. And I know that people say you fluctuate throughout the day and that is fine but 11lbs...well I can't fit into any of those jeans I bought just a few months ago as a reward for dropping a dress size. It is really bad, I was wondering if anyone else had a similar experience or any advice? My gyn is back home so I am considering just stopping taking the pill and if in 2 months back on calorie count that I havent begun to lose weight again I guess I just will stay on the medicine and realize my body doesnt want me to lose weight. It is just really frustrating!!! 

yes - it is possible - currently battling this problem myself....

I started on Yaz last year and actually dropped a few pounds the first two weeks,  but then about six weeks in I just went crazy.

SO - I went back to the doc and was switched to Zovia.  I gained 8 pounds the first 14 days.  I added another few over the holidays, but have lost those.  These last 8 pounds I cannot get rid of.

anyway to find a new gyn at/near your school?  or maybe just going to see a gen practioner?

I'm thinking about making another appointment to ask for a switch......

My OB/GYN told me that the believed reason that many people complain of weight gain while on birth control is that it changes the way your body deals with carbs. Maybe you could try limiting them and see how that works?

 

There's also many different&nb sp;kinds of birth control  ;out there. You're obviously having adverse side effects of weight gain from the pills you're accustomed to, so maybe it would be worth it to risk trying a different pill to see if you can fine one that allows you to function normally without weight gain.

 

I've actually lost 30 pou nds since I've been on&nb sp;Depo.

i didn't gain with the depo shot. the spotting is horrible, but i'll live. just gotta wait it out. ask your doctor to switch you brands.

 

did you keep everything the same and just gain? did your measurements change? more cravings?

I'm on OrthoTricyclen Lo, and I have not noticed any weight gain. Perhaps you should try a different brand of birth control pill - they are not all the same.

um...i have nothing to contribute, but is that "s'il vous plait" (svp)?

I am on tricyclen too and i didnt have any weight gain with that...

BC Pills don't make you gain weight, so it's possible.

 

http://www.steadyhealth.com/Birth_control_pil ls_do_not_cause_weight_gain_t61132.html

http://www.cfah.org/hbns/getDocument.cfm?docu mentID=1203

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.as p?articlekey=50532&page=2

read myth #2

 http://www.wnbc.com/health/6433552/detail.htm l

 

Wow - these links aren't much help -

"The main reasons for weight gain due to pills have been fluid retention, increase in appetite and extra fat laid down." 

That says right there that it causes weight gain. How can it be a myth if they are saying it's true?

 

birth control increases your appetite.  what you put in your mouth causes weight gain.

don't get offended - i'm quoting my doctor.

pgeorgian - no offense taken -

but that's my point - if the pill increases appetite, and increased appetite causes weight gain....

then yes, the pill does cause weight gain by way of increased appetite (or water retention, or craziness, or whatever else would not be happening if the pill weren't in the picture.....)

Thanks everyone for the replies~!!!

yaggablues- i will probably try to limit my carbs and give the pill another chance. What I am about to say isn't an excuse it is just an explanation though...It is hard for me to limit my carbs because I am at school and have no car so the only food I can really store are soups and pastas so there goes my carbs :/ I might try to find other people to go to the store with because my roommates always order out!

x17star- yeah I have been on a bunch of brands. I have been on Yasmin, Yaz, Nuva Ring, and Ortho Evra over the past 6 years (geesh) sounds crazy. I never "gained weight" on the pills but I just was unable to lose weight no matter how much I worked out or how healthy I ate. It wasn't until I stopped taking the birth control pills months into calorie count that I lost weight. I kept everything the same, the reason I felt the urge to stop taking the pill was because I had been following my doc's reccomendations for a few months and hadnt seen any changes. My measurements did change, and where my weight gain has been makes sense along with the bc. Like my stomach, love handles, saddle bags... all those lovely parts haha. I don't feel like I have any unusual cravings, that is the thing that really gets me, and it is constant weight gain day-to-day not just a one day fluke of 10lbs higher. it sucks!

pgeorgian- haha yes it was s'il vous plaît, sometimes I don't even realize I am talking/chatting in franglais! haha. I mean I can understand it giving people weird cravings but I don't eat any more or any less or even any weirder foods than previously. I just don't get it. I am also pretty active, I play field hockey for 2 hours a few nights a week, that should be balancing me out!! hah

aprii- so after you stopped taking it, how long did it take you to lose those 7-8lbs? Because I stopped last spring and it took a bit of time, I guess for my body to get back on normal cycle, but It was only then that I started to lose weight. I think I am going to finish this pack and call my doctor because I had told her my concern about this before starting.

I believe it does cause weight gain. I didn't start having weight issues until I was about 23 or 24 when I started on Ortho Try Cyclen. I blew up and people told me too. I haven't been on BC for years now because I'm afraid of gaining weight again. I only recently entertained the idea of it again, but I have yet to take my first BC pill in years.

Original Post by fate-rock:

BC Pills don't make you gain weight 

It's all about semantics. BC pills don't directly cause weight gain, but they influence weight gain because they make you retain water, make you hungrier, and make you lay down fat more easily. But, the result of taking birth control is often weight gain. 

Hmm - actually - I'm no doctor so I could just be making this up - but birth control pills work by hormonally making your body think that you are pregnant.  If you are pregnant, your body won't release a new egg and thus you won't get pregnant.

When your body thinks you are pregnant, a few things happen.  1) you gain blood volume.  2) your digestion slows WAY down to get more nutrients out of your food.  This means, um, you have more partially digested food in your system than normal.  3) slightly higher fat stores to protect you and the baby. 

All those things together will make you gain weight.  However, the fat side of things is not terribly huge by itself.  It DOES, however, make your body more resistant to LOSING fat. 

For a personal look, I have not been on BCPs for many many years.  Over 10 years anyway.  In the last year, I began eating healthy and working out consistantly and I lost 70 pounds.  I run, bike, swim, ellip, whatever.  I'm still slowly headed down and the day I competed in the indoor triathalon I got to 159 for the 70 pound loss.  About 3 days later I started BCPs for the first time.  Over the next week I was up to 164 pounds and I was still eating well and working out.  I continued my eating well and working out just like normal and that did turn around so that today I am again back to 159 pounds.  I'm still on the pill.

Did it make me gain weight?  Yes - was it the end of healthy and make me go back to obesity?  No.  Would I suggest that anyone that doesn't HAVE to be on BCPs take them?  No way.

That's my 2 cents anyway.

I gained 30 lbs when I first went on the pill almost 7 years ago and am only now taking it off. I used the pill as an excuse and told myself I'd rather be heavier than pregnant. But there were many factors that contributed to my initial weight gain. I was extremely sedentary, was working at a fast food restaurant (and taking advantage of the free food), was in an uninspiring relationship with someone who was happy to spend all his hours watching tv and movies, and I was generally unhappy. Also, I was probably at an age where I should've started paying attention to what went into my mouth, but instead I ate endless sugar and carbs (pasta and bagels were the staples of my diet). I moved to the city from the suburbs (and dumped the boyfriend) about 5 years ago and saw 10 lbs drop off just from walking more often, but the other 20 remained until the most recent Christmas season when I became completely disgusted with the holiday bingeing and got down to business. I've been counting calories/eating healthier foods/watching portions and going to the gym (weights and cardio) four times a week, and have *almost* returned to the weight I was before I went on the pill (I'm still on it). I'm hoping I'll maintain it with no problem, but I guess we'll see. Point being, I don't think the weight gain is inevitable and it's not impossible to lose while you're on the pill.

ive been on birth control for 4 years now (initially went on it due to bad periods) .. i switched to yaz last july after being on ortho tri cyclen lo since may of 04. when i switched to yaz i lost A LOT of weight, but it wasn't really contributable to the BC since I was eating better and exercising more.

i'm planning on going off of it soon though because i heard that if you're on it too long you may have problems getting pregnant, and i do want to have children one day.

If you can try a different type of BC I'd say go for it, I take Lo Ovral, it's the regular BC except with a lower dosage of hormones.

UPDATE -

after much discussion w. my husband and research, I decided to stop the pill two weeks ago. 

I am still counting my calories and working out, and despite having visited the coast this past weekend where all we do is fish and eat, I have still managed to lose 2 pounds in two weeks, where previously I had been stuck at the same weight for almost two months.

COINCIDENCE?!?!?

maybe - maybe not - but I think I know what is working for me.....

 

I was on the pill over 10 yrs ago, and I did gain weight, I felt hungry all the time, so I ate more... had I not taken the pills I would not have felt hungry even after eating a full meal...so would not have gained weight. I think it is a normal and natural response to eat more when you have feelings of hunger.  So I agree with the posters above, the result of the BC pill (for many people) is weight gain. 

I went off the pill (because of the weight gain), and I had to work on reducing my calories and watching what I ate very closely, and it took me a year to take off the 20 lbs I had gained. I'll never go on the pill again (not as a method of birth control anyway). I'm not even willing to experiment with other brands that may not have the same result. My boyfriend (who's been there through my weight gain and loss) understands and respects my decision. :)