Losing Weight While On The Pill

[Mercurial]

Hi, everyone!

So I have been taking the pill for about four years now (I'm twenty years old) for some mild lady problems and really horrible acne. I even took Acutane (a drug used to treat some cancers and very severe skin conditions) three times for six-month periods. It's only recommended to be used once in a lifetime because it can have severe and permanent side effects. That's how bad my acne was and still can be. Birth control clears it right up with no issues.

Except one... It is impossible to lose weight while on the pill for me.

I stopped taking it for about two weeks when I ran out (I had to find a new doctor as I was transitioning from pediatric to regular), and OH. MY. GOD.

Losing weight has never been easier. I'm hardly hungry at all. I had to remind myself to eat a few times because I just totally forgot about it. And I haven't craved anything. It is so strange to me --is this what it feels like to have a "normal" appetite? And then on top of that, losing weight is difficult on the pill no matter what I eat or how much or how little I eat or how much I exercise. The pill fools your body into thinking it's pregnant (so you don't release an egg thus preventing pregnancy since the sperm cant mate with an unreleased egg), so it is literally fighting you to retain weight because it thinks you've got a kid to take care of.

I haven't been exercising that much, and I'm still eating all the same foods I normally do (just less of them, I think), and I've dropped five pounds in two weeks. That has never happened to me before, even when I was working out daily and eating 100% healthy foods.

So now I'm in a pickle.

Either I can stay off the pill and lose weight until I get to a size I'm happy at (and suffer slightly irregular / painful periods and some zits; and be more careful while having sex), or I can keep taking my pill and be miserable at this weight I'm at. I've made the decision to not take it again until I've reached a weight I'm happy with. Being comfortable in my body is worth a little period discomfort and some zits. I'll go back on it when I'm happy, and then I'll have to figure out how to maintain the good weight...

Surely I'm not the only one with this issue.

How do you ladies on the pill manage to lose weight despite it? What pill do you take? (I take the generic version of Cyclessa, which is the only pill that doesn't give me awful, frequent migraines.

Etc. Advice, support??

Thanks! I hope you all have wonderful Mondays!

Edited to add: And I am so happy because I think this is going to make me excited to work out in general (and with Cathe!) again, because I will finally see some results!! <3

 

[wonderwoman]

I have had the same thoughts about the pill. I was not trying to lose alot a weight just those last few pounds. Well like you I had that lapse with the pill. My dr's office didnt want to give me a new prescription because I had not been there in a year. So I was off and within 1 week those last few pounds came off like nothing. I didnt change my diet which is pretty good to begin with and I didnt throw in an extra workout.
I decided not to go back on the pill because for me the pill just throughs me off. I am way more irritable and moody on the pill. I also have a heavier cycle on the pill which is odd because I thought it was suppose to have the opposite effect. The only thing I feel off the pill are more physical symptoms right before my cycle which are the tenderness and mild back pain but thats it. I was on the generic brand of Lo-oval. I am also 37 years old which I have no idea if the age plays a role in anything. I also like the fact that my body is in a more natural state and doing stuff on it's own. I feel more in tune with my body no more hormones pump in by the pill.
I hope u make a decision that is right for you and I hope I was able to help in some sort of way. LOL Have a nice day!

 

[RapidBreath]

I also had a very hard time on the pill. I couldn't lose weight at all. I switched pills to yasmin and then I was able to lose weight. But, with the bad press about its effect on your heart it is hard to get a prescription for it. As soon as I have a job, I'm going to be investigating acupuncture for my female issues (PCOS etc.) I understand that can be very effective for tumors/endometriosis and excess bleeding. I was put on the pill at 19 for my endometriosis and while it does help keep my cycle in check, I'm not so sure that I did well on it. Maybe other forms of birth control are less reliable but all these foreign hormones in our bodies can't be a good thing.

As for the acne, its usually caused by unopposed progesterone. You might try an evening primrose oil (easy to get at a drug store) supplement. Also, try avoiding soy for a couple of weeks and see if that doesn't help. Too much estrogen can cause an issue too. Soy is hard on your thyroid anyway so you may see even more weight loss if you skip eating soy based foods. Most processed foods have some soy in them. It represses your ability to uptake (use) the thyroid in your body, people with a thyroid issue are typically encouraged to avoid soy.

Migraines: if you are having migraines, you might try a zinc supplement. Those are cheap. They have helped my brother with the severity of his headaches and they help with my menstrual headaches.

A good fish oil supplement helped with my menstrual cramps/pain. Don't take too much though, because it will lower your blood pressure and too low on the blood pressure is dangerous. I also take a B12 supplement during ttotm, it seems to give me pep

 

[nclncl]

When I stop my hormonal birth control, I drop 10 lbs just like THAT and drop a bra size (which I don't mind). I take mine for different reasons though...I have PCOS (though have never been overweight). I can lose weight still on it, but I have to be really consistent with eating less (I am 5'4" and about 133 lbs and would have to get my cals down to 1300-1400 a day). I am always trying to take off those last 10 or so lbs. Totally frustrating. I use the Nuva ring BTW which is, as I understand it, the lowest dose of hormones on the market, but don't quote me on that. I do think it's a little easier to lose on the Nuvaring than it was on the pills (though still not easy), but that might be that I was constantly forgetting pills and getting moodiness with that and I don't really have to remember to take a pill every day with the Nuva Ring.