Dieting on birth control
 

Hi there,
I just started the south beach diet this past week. In the summer I started birth control and then got married. I gained 13lbs since then. I started the program Thursday and have lost about 3lbs.
I know that's good for a week. But, just wondering if there's anyone else with this problem of birth control issues. It seems harder for me to lose weight.

I've been exercising a bit along with the program. Bike riding and walks with the DH. He's also on the diet and has lost 9lbs so far...
Any suggestions? Thanks!

I lost my first 30 pounds while on Depo Provera (my Dr. called it the "nuclear bomb" of birth control), and it actually went fairly easily. I was on SBD Phase I at that time (I'm currently on Atkins). Hormones effect everyone differently, though. I was on Depo for a little over 2 years--it made me moody and over emotional...I eventually got the Merina IUD. I LOVE my IUD and I don't get as emotional as when I was on Depo--but I've never had my BC effect my weight loss. When I stalled or re-gained, it was always because I wasn't being 100% faithful to my diet plan (or even 80 or 60%...). For me, it was more a mental hurdle than a BC-induced one.

If you do find that you're having a strange reaction to your BC, talk to your Dr. about maybe trying something else. There are a lot of BC options out there!

Thanks for the encouragement. I'll see how it goes. How is the Atkins working for you?

I lost 35lbs while taking hormonal birth control (first Ortho Norvum, not Nuvaring), so it's definitely doable. I don't feel like it's impacted my ability to lose weight at all, but I've been on BC for so long now (over 10 years) that it's hard to know for sure.

There are lots of BC options out there, including tons of different varieties of the pill. They all have slightly different side effects; I think there are even some that are supposed to help with weight loss. If you feel like the pill you are on has side effects that aren't for you, ask your doctor to try a different one. Or you could try the Nuvaring, which is a much lower does of hormones than oral pills (and you put it in once a month and forget about it).

I also have to say that when I moved in with my SO, I gained weight. But it had nothing to do with BC; it was because I started eating regularly, including high calorie dinners that I made for the two of us, and because we moved to the suburbs where I did a lot less walking. It could be changes in your lifestyle, rather than the BC, that is responsible for the weight gain. I've seen a lot of friends gain weight after they got married.

Everybody is different, and some forms of hormonal birth control cause people to pack it on while others have less effect.

I was on the pill for almost 20 years and never really found it affected my weight. Then I switched to Depo and I packed on 30 pounds in 18 months - yikes. I've had the Mirena IUD for the last 3 years, and I found that my weight gain stopped and now I seem to be able to lose it when I actually do the work. I have noticed that my weight fluctuates more on the Mirena, but that seems to be fluid retention.

BP

Thanks guys. I've lost 5lbs so far. I am trying to have self control and only weight myself once a week. Although, there is a pair of jeans that are a size 8 that last week I couldn't fit into and barely did this weekend and now they fit quite nicely... So I'm thinking I'm losing!
I was more worried that the BC may inhibit the weight loss. It seems like I'm good to go1 Thank you guys! :smile: