Can I Lose Weight With Contraceptive Pills

We include products we think are useful for our readers. If you buy through links on this page, we may earn a small commission. Here’s our process.

Our team thoroughly researches and evaluates the recommendations we make on our site. To establish that the product manufacturers addressed safety and efficacy standards, we:

Hormonal birth control can sometimes cause weight gain. Nonhormonal options like a barrier method or a copper IUD may prevent weight gain associated with hormonal options.

Can You Lose Weight With Orlistat?

If you’ve ever checked out the side effects of some birth control, you may have noticed both weight loss and weight gain listed.

But is there a type of birth control that’s best for weight loss or maintaining your current weight? Read on for a deep, deep dive into the topic.

But it could mean that your body looks different in certain areas and your clothes fit differently. Some people are more prone to water retention than others, which would explain the individual differences.

How To Lose Weight On Birth Control: 5 Ways For 2023

No form of birth control has been designed for weight loss. But some forms are believed to have less of a chance of creating weight gain.

Barrier methods, like condoms and diaphragms, act as a physical sperm-blocking barrier. This means they don’t contain any hormones, and there’s no way they could affect your weight.

But they don’t work as well as other contraceptives — out of 100 people, 18 to 28 will become pregnant each year when relying solely on a barrier method to prevent pregnancy.

Do Hormonal Contraceptives Cause Weight Gain?

Also known as the copper IUD, ParaGard doesn’t contain hormones either. Instead, it uses copper to stop sperm from reaching and fertilizing an egg.

It’s also more than 99 percent effective at preventing pregnancy, can be kept in for up to 10 years, and can even be used as emergency contraception if needed.

As higher estrogen levels are believed to be linked to weight gain, a pill containing a lower dose of estrogen may help.

Which Types Of Birth Control Don't Cause Weight Gain?

One brand, Yasmin, uses a progesterone alternative called drospirenone, which acts like a diuretic. This means you’re unlikely to have water retention.

Although weight loss is listed as a potential side effect of some hormonal contraceptives, no birth control has been designed to promote it.

The only way you may feel like you’ve lost weight is if you’re prone to water retention and use a contraceptive that has a diuretic effect.

Woman Who Was Too Overweight For Contraceptive Pill Loses Eight Stone In A Year

For example, you could eat a more balanced diet, engage in more physical activity, and limit the amount of salty, sugary, or fatty foods in your diet. Staying hydrated is also important.

Even if you do this, it’s possible you might still feel like you’ve gained weight. This is often a temporary side effect caused by water retention.

If you’re not happy with the way your contraception is making you look or feel, consider making an appointment with a doctor or other healthcare professional.

Weight Loss On Birth Control

Similarly, if you experience significant weight gain or loss, reach out to a healthcare professional. There could be something else going on in your body that needs examining.

But one of the hormones in Yasmin, drospirenone, can act as a diuretic. That means it may lead to less or no water retention, giving the illusion that you’ve lost weight.

But a 2016 review found that, on average, people who took a progestin-only pill gained less than 4.4 pounds after 6 or 12 months.

How To Lose Weight On Birth Control? Alternative Methods

The jury’s still out on if birth control causes weight gain or weight loss. But lots of people have stories of weight-related side effects, so it’s possible.

That doesn’t mean you should use birth control as a weight loss method, as it’s unlikely to have a significant effect, if any at all.

Finally, if you need a more accessible and affordable way to get hold of birth control, consider online platforms, like Nurx or Hers.

Best Birth Control For Weight Loss And Diet Supplements

Lauren Sharkey is a U.K.-based journalist and author specializing in women’s issues. When she isn’t trying to discover a way to banish migraines, she can be found uncovering the answers to your lurking health questions. She has also written a book profiling young female activists across the globe and is currently building a community of such resisters. Catch her on Twitter.

Has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations. We avoid using tertiary references. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.Hormonal birth control can lead to weight gain in some people. Regular exercise and dietary choices can often help manage this. If not, it is best to speak with a doctor. They may test for underlying conditions or suggest an alternative method.

In this article, we evaluate the data that is available about birth control and weight gain, as well as provide tips for losing or preventing weight gain.

Why It Could Be Harder To Lose Weight On Birth Control

Despite the lack of scientific evidence, some women taking combined contraceptives believe that they increase their appetite and cause them to feel hungrier. Again, this is not easy to establish, as those who do not take contraceptive pills can gain weight as they age.

To do this, researchers would have to take two groups of women and give some birth control pills with hormones, while giving placebos, or birth control pills without hormones, to others.

However, this would be difficult because people could not be sure they were in control of preventing pregnancies. Launching a very conclusive study is, therefore, difficult.

The Truth About Birth Control, Weight Loss & Weight Gain

The Cochrane Library, which conducts reviews of scientific research and evaluates available references, has published some information on birth control pills and weight gain.

In the studies, participants gained fewer than 4.4 pounds, on average, after 6 or 12 months of starting progestin-only birth control pills.

Review looked at the effects of combined hormone birth control pills on weight gain. These pills contain progestin and estrogen. The researchers found there was insufficient evidence to conclude that these birth control pills caused weight gain.

Emergency Contraceptive Pill Might Be Ineffective For Obese

, it is “unlikely” that birth control pills cause significant weight gain. The organization did, however, acknowledge that individual women might respond differently to medications taken.

If a woman is concerned that her birth control pills are causing her to gain weight, she should talk to her doctor.

A doctor may recommend another contraceptive type or a lower hormone dose to see if this could help a person lose weight.

How To Lose Weight On Birth Control

Other birth control methods besides the pill are available. Most, however, utilize the same hormones that are present in birth control pills.

Examples of these methods include the birth control implant, an intrauterine device (IUD), or a birth control vaginal ring. There are hormonal and nonhormonal IUDs, the trade names of which include Mirena, Sklya, Kyleena, Liletta.

For a full listing of birth control types and their average pregnancy rates with typical uses, people can check out the information provided by the United States government at

Does The Birth Control Pill Cause Weight Gain?

Hormonal birth control forms, for example, can increase the risks that a woman may experience blood clots and high blood pressure, according to

These side effects often subside as people become accustomed to taking the birth control pills. If side effects become too difficult to manage, however, they should see their doctor.

No conclusive scientific evidence has proven that taking birth control pills cause weight gain. Doctors also point to the fact that many people tend to gain weight as they age, which may be a reason why they perceive their birth control pills are to blame.

Most Common Birth Control Pill Side Effects

If, however, a woman has made no changes to her diet and exercise program, has recently begun taking birth control pills, and sees their weight increasing, she should talk to her doctor about possible reasons or potential adjustments.

Medical News Today has strict sourcing guidelines and draws only from peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. We avoid using tertiary references. We link primary sources — including studies, scientific references, and statistics — within each article and also list them in the resources section at the bottom of our articles. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.A: In short, no contraceptive pill will result in weight loss – that's all up to what you put into your body and how you move your body. However, there are some contraceptive pills, which have been deemed less likely to result in weight gain.

The search for an option that is just right can often be very tricky – particularly if you are planning on avoiding side effects like weight gain.

Birth Control: The Reason Why You Can't Lose Weight?

Rumours of the miracle pill began circulating when the manufacturers of oral contraceptive Yasmin published at study in Contraception Journal, which followed 300 women lost just under 1kg after six months of taking the pill.

However, after a about a year, the women regained the weight and experts have rubbished the claims the Yasmin pill helped people lose weight.

Dr Elizabeth Farrell, Medical Director and gynaecologist at Jean Hailes for Women’s Health warns the contraceptive pill should never be used for weight loss.

Beyond The Pill: A 30 Day Program To Balance Your Hormones, Reclaim Your Body, And Reverse The Dangerous Side Effects Of The Birth Control Pill

Dr Farrell: Not all women put on weight on the contraceptive pill. Some people say this it increases appetite so it’s important for women to look at the amount and quality of food they eat. It’s very important to read