Oral Contraceptives and Difficulty Losing Weight

I am just starting my 5th pack of Yaz.  It's been about 18 yrs since using oc's.  I gained about 20 pounds over the last year, before starting on the pill, but have had problems losing weight since being on it.  I've always been athletic and eaten healthy foods.  I cook a lot.  I just ate more over the last year, having a 6' tall BF who lifts weights.  I got used to larger portions, being the main cook.  I'm at my heaviest, just slightly overweight, but heavier than ever, (my BMI reflects this), and I've never had a prob losing 5-10 pounds, but this is seemingly insurmountable.  Just for reference, I am 5'3" 145 pounds.  I have a lot of muscle weight but fat covering it.  I am 38.  I have lost 3 pounds in about 2 months and been on this plateau for about 6 weeks.  I've been lowering my caloric intake by 100 a day each couple of weeks for the last 4+ weeks and am down to 1600 now.  I lift weights and do a fair amount of cardio so I am burning between 1900-2200 a day.  I keep close track of this and I weigh everything I eat.  I have a lot of recipes so I know what I am eating and am counting the cals all the time.  It's just so darned hard to lose the weight.  Oh, I am 38, if that matters. 

So my question is this:  Has anyone had problems gaining or with trying to lose weight while on oral contraceptives?  Also, what are you taking?  Have you had any success, and, if so, how?  What have you done?  It seems so many women gain weight to or have trouble losing it on the pill.  I want to know what anyone has done to get past this.  Also, I want to get to know others who are struggling with the same thing I am.  I could use some camaraderie! 

I was on Yaz for about 6 months and I loved it and it kept me from holding onto water. The progesterone they use is also a diuretic so it helps.  I had no problems losing on it but I had to go off it because it caused me to get this weird itchy rash all over my arms and legs. Major bummer cuz other than that I loved it!

Wow, I didn't know it had a diuretic effect.  That explains why my breasts don't hurt anymore.  Sorry about the rash.  Thanks for the input!

When i was like 21 i was on the birth control pill Ortho tricylen and i got so sick on them deathly sick was vomiting everything i ate so it made me lose weight but yes they do make you gain normally it is a hormone!! So they made me get on the road almost to bulemia!! My friend said what i was doing was wrong so i decided to go get counseling and it did help me.  But i hear Yaz is much better with the side effects.  Hope that helps you.

 

 

Clarice

yea, thank's agentstarling.  i have had so few side effects from the Yaz.  it's why i'm hesitant to try another pill.  i figure weight gain or trouble losing will probably be an issue on any oc.  this one seems to be working ok, except for the spotting and irregular menses.  i am also taking the Yaz specifically for pmdd.  it helps.  it is awfully expensive though, $45-50!  i'm getting samples from my doc as often as possible. 

are you still on the pill?  did you quit taking it or switch to another one?

btw, i was bulemic for several years through my 20's.  i have since found recovery and have learned a lot about myself through it.  it's a rough ride, for sure.  it's like an addiction, but unlike drugs, you have to eat.  i hope you are doing well in your recovery. if you ever need an ear (or eyes!) to talk about it, i'm always available.  feel free to message me from my profile if ya want. 

Yeah spotting and even breakthrough bleeding is normal on birth control pills.  I dont take the pill now though.  I have hypothyroidism that's why i have no or scanty menstrual periods now i had fertility problems and had to have help to have 2 of my children i have now.  I also have PCOS too (polycystic ovarian syndrome) and it makes it hard to lose weight too.  I have a double whammy!! I was told i didn't ovulate that's why i had to have fertility help.  Well low and behold last year (2007) i started taking care of myself joined weight watchers and wasn't on anything except my thyroid pill and i found out i was pregnant on my own this time last year!! I was shocked to say the least.  The reason i was on birth control years ago was to regulate my menses.  It made me sick to take the ortho though so i stopped it once it made me bulemic.  I knew it was wrong but hey it was making me lose weight.  The counseling helped tremendously and i found out alot about myself through it.  Found out i was very co-dependant through the counseling.  Thanks i might email you too! You can talk to me anytime too!! thanks!!

Clarice

If part of the reason you are on birth control is for a medical reason (you mentioned PMDD), you can typically get your insurance company to cover it for you.  If it's only for birth control reasons, that's a completely different story. 

thanks, liza, but i'm totally out-of-pocket - no insurance.  i handle most of my stuff naturally and only see my gyn so my med bills are usually less in a year than a year's premiums.  for me, after doing the math, it's just not worth it.  but i don't have kids.  it's just me & my BF.  now, if they had veterinarian insurance, i might consider it!  my dog had melanoma a couple of years ago.  she's recovered since the surgery but it wasn't cheap.  and my BF went into debt over his deceased cat.  for now my gyn is helping by providing samples.  he's great.

I'm not sure how much my experience will relate or not, but I take Lessina which is a gineric for Alessin; this is a low-dose oc, which I believe means it is important to take at the same time every day for effectiveness if taking for birth control.  I have been taking for a few years and don't really have any side affects from or weight (gain or loss) problems/interference.  This may be an option for you.  You could check with your doctor.  I pay $25 per month for this, no health ins. coverage for meds, so I feel this is relatively affordable. 

Gradually lowering your calories to get off the plateau makes sense.  You sound a little more active than me at the moment, but I'm close to your height.  I'm about 5 feet 4.5 inches tall and am trying to lose weight.  My target daily caloric intake is 1400 per day (like I said, I'm less active than you at the moment).  I had started at 1600 but didn't move off the plateau until I went to 1400.  I noticed I started to lose at a litte quicker rate.  (The lowest I may eventually do is 1300 or 1200 per day).

Yea, I think I will start to lose if lower the cals.  It's so hard!  I have not been keeping it at 1600, every few days exceeding it by 100-300, so I will give it another week actually sticking to it before I lower my cals.  I hate going to bed hungry. 

Yaz is a low-dose pill also.  The hormones a different kind than most other oc's.  I'll keep on keepin' on! I just don't wanna be sick or insane on the pill and so far, this one has produced neither. 

Thanks for the feedback.  I'm looking forward to some more.  So, anyone else wanting to post here, or anyone already posted wanting to talk more about it - bring it on!

I know that I gained around 5 pounds while on the pill, and tried to lose weight. It didn't work so well. The day after I my period stopped and I decided not to take the pill I lost 2 pounds. lol. But I don't think there's a direct cause/effect.  Too many other factors.

Anyway, I have lost around 5 pounds since I stopped the pill, a month and a half ago. I had a real hard time losing anything while I was on it.

I was on Aleese for a year and didn't gain weight ..but I lost weight. I was also nursing so that may have had something do with it.  I did however have no SEX DRIVE!!!

SO i switched to Ortho Tri-C lo and well I packed on some weight and I couldn't lose any of it.  I tried cutting calories, working out and NOTHING. Not one pound left my body.

A year later I dropped the pill altogether bought a Diaphragm and started charting.   I have been doing this for over a year.  I didn't start to try and lose weight until about 7 weeks ago. I am down 14lbs.  :) 

 

The reason you are not loosing weight has to do with your calories in/out.  If you use the tools on the site, it says that with your stats you will burn 1700 cal/day + what ever you do at the gym.  You said you were down to eating 1600 cal from 2000 cal per day.  So you are only creating a 100 cal deficit + deficit from exercise at the gym.  Remember 3500 =1lb loss.  Its all in the math.  You are barely creating a defict, so thats why you're not loosing.  The max suggested is -500 from food and -500 from exercise.  So eat 1700-500=1200, burn 500 and there is 2 lbs a week (1000x7=7000=2lbs).
Oral contraceptives may make you gain 5lbs of water in the first cycle or two, but your body should get used to it and go back to normal pretty soon.  If anything, the hormonal swings will be less, and TTOM water weight gains/flucuations will be less then too....

Original Post by agentstarling:

Yeah spotting and even breakthrough bleeding is normal on birth control pills.  I dont take the pill now though.  I have hypothyroidism that's why i have no or scanty menstrual periods now i had fertility problems and had to have help to have 2 of my children i have now.  I also have PCOS too (polycystic ovarian syndrome) and it makes it hard to lose weight too.  I have a double whammy!! I was told i didn't ovulate that's why i had to have fertility help.  Well low and behold last year (2007) i started taking care of myself joined weight watchers and wasn't on anything except my thyroid pill and i found out i was pregnant on my own this time last year!! I was shocked to say the least.  The reason i was on birth control years ago was to regulate my menses.  It made me sick to take the ortho though so i stopped it once it made me bulemic.  I knew it was wrong but hey it was making me lose weight.  The counseling helped tremendously and i found out alot about myself through it.  Found out i was very co-dependant through the counseling.  Thanks i might email you too! You can talk to me anytime too!! thanks!!

Clarice

 I also have PCOS and it is ridiculously hard to lose weight. I'm on Diane 35 and I'm hoping for no weight gain *fingers crossed*

there's no way i could live on 1200 cals a day. that's ridiculous. i agree that i could lose more if i keep it at 1500-1600 cals a day but i could not work out at the level i do on 1200 cals a day. i won't go below 1400. i appreciate the advice, but 1200 cals a day with my musculature while lifting weights is dangerous. i am on a high protein diet with most of my carbs coming from fruit, some whole grains, but i keep the carbs down to a minimum because i am building muscle and need the protein. i think the quality of cals is something to consider. i have been gaining muscle mass. my bust and hips have gained an inch while my waist is static. high muscle density burns calories much more efficiently than lower muscle mass. i see your logic and math is math, but the reality is that there are variables in real life. my biceps measures 13.5" when flexed. that is muscle. my triceps do not wobble at all. my fat has collected around my lower abdomen. my limbs are solid. my muscles are unusually large from years of weight training. the system here is meant to be a guideline, not a holy grail of truth. if i took your advice literally i'd be in the hospital before long. i am saying this for those out there who would take this kind of advice literally. i don't intend to upset you but i feel the need to correct this for others who might not know better.

there's a pic of me in my gallery from before i gained the weight. i was 125-130 pounds and ate around 1600-1800 cals a day. i was like that for about 20 years.  i'd be willing to bet that i burn more calories than most women my ht & wt when i work out or just sit around because of the muscle mass.  that's something this system does not/cannot account for. 

I spent three months on Ortho-Tricyclen lo, which is a lo dose tri-phasic pill. Prior to beginning this pill, I was losing one pound a week, every week for several months. When I started the pill, I did not change my caloric intake or my workout habits, except to workout harder. Once I started the pill, I stopped losing weight. I didn't gain anything, but I could not lose the weight. I went and had my RMR tested, to make sure that I was eating the correct amount of calories, and I was. I also continued to work harder during my workouts, but with no results. So, I went back to the doctor and switched my birth control to Lo-Ovral which is a mono-phasic pill. I've been back on it for about two weeks, and am back to losing weight, despite the fact that I haven't been working out much in the past two weeks. With that being said, I am not a doctor. I don't know if I had been losing weight on the first pill, but retaining water, or if I really just wasn't losing.

After about 15 years of birth control pills and all the weight gain and side effects that came with them, I finally switched to the Nuva Ring. I've been using it for almost three years now and really love it. Although it is also a hormonal form of birth control, there are less hormones released throughout your system than pills. I have no side effects and have found it a bit easier to lose weight. It takes some getting used to the first few weeks, but onoce you get the hang of inserting it properly you'll forget it's even there!

I am so glad someone posted about this! I have been on the depo shot for a year and a half and it is almost impossible for me to lose weight! I have gained almost 20 lbs since being on it and when I try to lose... well, right now, I'm on a 1400 cal diet and exercising at least 5 days a week - long walks, some jogging, and some light strength training. Could this really be the answer? Should I come off of the depo?? I am a fertile Mertile, so I need something... although I am not even sexually active right now (possibly bc the shot kills any and all desire). Is this it? Is this why it's been so difficult for me?

Original Post by mspw:

Wow, I didn't know it had a diuretic effect.  That explains why my breasts don't hurt anymore.  Sorry about the rash.  Thanks for the input!

 Oh, really? I may have to look into this because I spend the last week of my cycle with swollen and very sore breasts.

It's hard to say if being on the pill contributed to my weight gain, but I really think it was my terrible eating habits in college. But it didn't prevent me from losing any weight.

I know the depo shot has caused a lot of people to gain weight. The convienence may be nice, but at what price?

As for the ring or patch, I don't mess around with those because I have a history of blood clots in my family, and estrogen is a coagulent. Having all the concentrated estrogen in one spot can be a little more dangerous, especially if you are thinner.