If you were thin in your youth, but overweight in adulthood, are you aware of what changed?

I weigh the same as I did when I graduated from high school, but my calorie intake is a heck of a lot less. When I was in high school and college I could eat an entire pizza all by myself. Now three slices is about it. We worked hard physically when I was growing up and I also was in a lot of sports, so I always ate a lot but never got overweight. Now I work a desk job, so my activity is less. I still love to eat and love really good food, I just don’t over do it. I also learned not to overeat the hard way. On vacation, I ate three full meals one day at restuarants. They all served huge portions, and I ate them all. Then I went back to the hotel room and curled up on the bed in agony for two hours. Never again. That hurt so bad.

For the first half of my life, I could eat anything and everything I wanted to, and I stayed thin, but after my second child, at age 36, I started gaining about 1 pound a month, and no amount of cutting down or doing without seemed to help.

After about four years, it tapered off. I remain around 40 to 50 pounds overweight now. I used to wear size 8 – 10 clothes, and now I wear size 18 – 20.

Depo Provera.

@bkcunningham Is that the needle? Do birth control pills make you gain weight? I am starting on them but I don’t want to take them if they do. I mean, we can always continue using condoms.

I was at about 130–135 in grade 12.
First year University to about 4th year I was anywhere from 115–130
I am now 24 and I’m at about 145 but I exercise and my legs are toned; I’m generally happy with the way my body looks

I used to eat way less back in the day, too. Right now I’m stressed out so I’m eating less but when I’m normal and not stressed I eat a lot, maybe 1300–1500 cals a day. And I know I used to always eat around 1100. My thing was a relationship, too. My body had changed so much since I started being in a relationship. I got pudgy, I got fat, my butt got big. Even my stomach. Thankfully, I’ve gotten a little smaller now that I’m working out

Yes, @thesparrow, it is a shot. Not only can it cause significant weight gain, Depo can cause severe depression, hair loss and loss of bone mineral density. I would never recommend it to a woman.

I was on Ortho Novum birth control pills for years without any problems before I started the Depo shots. I had a feeling of the blues when I first started the pill, but back then they were much, much stronger than they are today. I just started taking a vitamin B complex and it straightened out my blues.

I wouldn’t have any problems advising my daughter to take a low-dose birth control pill. But I would never suggest any of the stronger methods. But that is just because I had such serious adverse reactions to the Depo Provera shots.

I don’t think 1300–1500 calories a day is a lot to eat, especially for a young active woman in college who is working out. Eat healthy and in moderation. Go to a good gynecologist and talk about your needs and get on the pill if they feel it is right for you. Tell them your caloric intake and your fears about gaining weight and take advantage of the doctor’s advice.

Your body is going to change, @thesparrow, that is just part of life. Your metabolism changes too. Eat right and stay active and don’t have sex without protection unless you are prepared to gain the weight of another human in your life.

My wife’s cooking vs. my cooking.

@filmfann Of course. Typical.

@bkcunningham Really? Wow.. Depo Provera must be really strong, then. I’m on a mild one called Avien, I think, but I haven’t started it yet. May I ask: why the decision to take shots instead of staying with the pill?

@bkcunningham Interestingly, it was the lower dose, specifically triphasal pills that made me nutso crazy. I took Ortho Novum 1+50 for years and had no visible changes. No weight gain, not breast changes, period exactly the same, 7 days. A few years ago I went on a high dose, can’t remember the name, because I was going to attempt a fertility cycle, and again it was like taking nothing, it could have been a sugar pill and I would not have known. I never would have taken a shot, because at least if you hate the side affects of a pill, you can just stop taking it. Once the shot is in you, it’s in. I had a friend who was a pharm rep for depo, and he once asked me if I would take it and what might convince me to take it, and I told him nothing. But, I can see the convenience of it in certain circumstances. Why did you choose to take it?

@thesparrow and JLeslie when I went on the Depo I was going to the a county health department for my annual pap and pelvic exam and for my year’s supply of birth control pills. A new doctor had been hired who counseled me against taking the birth control pills because I was 35 and smoked and she suggested I take the Depo Provera shot instead. It happened so quickly, I just agreed without doing any research.

@bkcunningham Interesting. Doesn’t Depo have the same risks as the pill?

Additional note: when I took the high dose just a few years ago I also did heparin shots along woth it because my risk for blood clots is higher than the average person. Bad genes.

Depo uses only the progestin hormone. At the time I used the contraceptive, the research showed that DMPA doesn’t carry the same risks for smokers as estrogen and the pill. I haven’t kept up with the research @JLeslie, so I’m not sure it is still a belief in the scientific community.

How often did you have to take heparin, @JLeslie? I hope you are all healed up after your bought of bad luck. : )

@bkcunningham I hadn’t realized that. I just read up on it a little. It looks likethe one concer associated with depo is bone loss.

I only took the heparin a month and a half twice a day.

@bkcunningham Ya, I’ve heard the smoking is really bad for the pill, but not necessarily for all ages. It gets worse for 35+. I have friends who are actually chronic smokers who were on the pill and were fine (marijuana and cigarettes) but they were under 25.

Actually, have you heard of the mini pill? It’s like DEPO (only uses progestin, no estrogen) and it comes in pill form. It’s sort of a watered-down BC pill.