Weight Gain with birth control

[etjaipleure]

I think I would be ok if I had a hyperthyroid lol Yes it seemed very odd. I mean, I had a cheat day once a week where I had soda and pizza and whatnot but other than that I logged in everything I ate into a program on my cell phone, food, drinks, and exercise. I exercised for about an hour and a half every single day except weekends and I was trying to lose the extra 10 pounds I gained and boom. Gained more! I have an appointment with my doctor for next week. If it's not my thyroid I don't know what it is. That is quite a lot of weight to gain in a month.

[lucygirl951]

15 pounds in a month is a fairly significant weight gain. Please get to your doctor as soon as possible. Hypothyroidism doesn't usually cause such a rapid and drastic weight gain, but there are other conditions that do. I watched an episode of Mystery Diagnosis several months ago, and in it, a fit and active woman started gaining weight in the way that you describe. I can't remember the name of her condition. Sorry.

[texastrigirl]

If you google 'went off birth control gained weight' you will see that you are not alone at all. I am a Spinning and Pilates instructor, work out 7-8 hours per week, log all my calories daily and have for years. I have essentially maintained the same weight range for over 6 years. I went off BC and in one week gained 5 lbs. I freaked, cut back my calories, increased my workouts even more and it's still there...even after my cycle has happened and I would typically lose 2-3 lbs of water weight. It is frustrating and I know logically that it's not fat that I have gained as I did not eat 17,500 extra calories more than I burned...but pyschologically, it's killing me.

So I called my Dr. and she said it does happen that some will gain weight after going OFF BC. Any hormonal changes can take a while for your body to adjust to and everyone reacts differently to them. She said if after 3 months I haven't lost it, she will check my thyroid but I am going in for blood testing next month anyway (hence the point of going off BC) and I think that's in the panel.

On the upside, I have some positives for going off it too and since I am 41, I hope to never use it again.

Please don't panic. Call your Dr. and check in if that will make you feel better. Stay the course on your diet and exercise. Stay healthy and it will all level out eventually. The testing of patience is never fun but it always makes us stronger.

Let us know how things work out.

[skeet09]

I lose weight without the pill because I was retaining water and had the bloating all the time so it looks like I was heavier than I was. Tried different pills with same results.
Go to the ob/gyn also and find out if this is a common thing with your type of birth control. It does take a few months, I would say around 3 to 6 months to see the difference. Also, the blood work tests are a good measure to take to make sure everything is ok.

[Ishouldknow]

I'm going to be a guy here (of course) but did your sex life end along with the bc? A half hour of sex will burn 150 calories for the average healthy, enthusiastic woman

[laurahill]

There might have been in some cases weight gain after taking the birth control pills,this will happen just because of hormonal imbalance.

[sh2009]

Although I have not gone off the BC yet (would sooo love to!) I had the same thing happen to me...I didn't used to pay attention to what I ate and I was fine until I suddenly gained 20 lbs in 2 months. In another 2 months, I gained 20 more. Went to the doctor and had everything checked and nothing was wrong. I have continued to gain despite being healthier...and I find the harder I try to lose, the more I gain. Right now we're doing Biggest Loser at work and I've gained about 7 lbs despite eating healthier and working out a lot more. It's so depressing I'm trying to stick with the fitness and healthier diet just because it's healthier for me but it sucks when it does the opposite of what I want it to do!!!

[TabulaRasa]

Do you know much about PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome?) It's relatively common endocrine disorder in women, can occur at any age, and can be difficult to diagnose, but otherwise unexplainable weight gain can definitely be rooted in problems in the endocrine system.

Others have stated that hormonal birth control will not effect your weight one way or another. I disagree regarding the truth of this assertion, myself. Women's weight, in addition to having genetic compoments, and obviously influenced greatly by calorie intake and exercise, is also greatly influenced by the endocrine system. When you are artificially adjusting your hormones, things can get off-balance. This goes for both going ON hormonal birth control, and coming off. Different types of hormonal birth control have different formulations and different delivery methods, so not every one is going to have the same effect in this regard, and not everybody's going to react the same way to a given type. There are lots of types out there, though, and there are nonhormonal options, as well, so if you do choose to use birth control, it's not as if every method is going to cause the same issues.

I've had hormonal BC that affected my weight, and hormonal BC that did not. It's a real trial and error process to find what works for you. Some women prefer to eschew hormonal BC altogether due to not wanting to risk throwing their endocrine systems out of whack, and I totally get that. Unfortunately for me, the hormones in BC are needed to help treat another, non-reproduction-related, condition, so I'd need to be on them, anyway, even if it weren't for contraceptive purposes, as well. So, it behooved me to find a type that didn't wreak havoc with my metabolism, etc. since I had to be on it, anyway.

[Ulysses61]

Can you explain exactly what you do at the gym? Please name the activity (or machine) and your intensity level. Thanks.