Never was on Depo, but as far as BC/weight gain goes, I guess it probably depends on people. We all react differently to those doses of hormones.
I used to be on Diane 35 and it never prevented me from losing weight. Now I'm on a prog.-only pill, for medical reasons, and it hasn't hindered anything. But then I never was victim to the big PMS or whatever even before that, so perhaps I'm just one of the lucky girls who react 'well' anyway? I don't know.

I was on Diane for 8 years and gained weight during it. At the time, I thought it was the birth control pill but thinking about it now, my eating habits became terrible and I did manage to lose weight while on it for a short period (before my snacking caught up with me again). I switched to Yasmin and still gained weight but then started to manage what I ate and have lost 27 lbs in 6 months.

Honestly, I think birth control has more of an effect on how satiated you feel rather than your metabolism. If you watch what you eat, you'll lose weight although it may feel harder because you may get more cravings. I blamed my birth control pill for a few years before finally taking notice that eating a lot of snacks during the day was my real problem, not the pill.

I don't know if my Ortho Micronor (progesterone only) made me gain weight, but it definetally gives me more cravings. Im still on it, and I've managed to loose 31 pounds, but I've gotta fight the junk food cravings constantly (I yell at anyone who brings junk into the house, I make it a point to not have it here)

I was on Depo in my early/mid twenties (I'm 35 now) and at my year check up after starting it, I had lost 14 lbs. However, I do remember my doctor warning me that some women experience weight gain while on it.

I've gathered that all birth control can cause weight gain, but the gain is actually from cravings and increased appetite. Now that I think about it, Depo does kinda increase my cravings, but I can handle that. I was more concerned about it messing with my metabolism.

As for the "it's my body" argument, I know it is, I just like to respect my mom's wants a little bit. I'm old enough to make my own decisions with my ob/gyn, but I feel like I'm disrespecting my mom in some way if I don't let her know what I'm doing. I still live under her roof as I'm going to college. She said it was fine if I switched to pills.

Anyways, I saw my ob/gyn and talked about switching. I start Ortho Tri Cyclen the end of August, so hopefully it will work better. I have nothing against Depo except for the eventual bone density loss.