“How does the pill affect females when it comes to fat loss and strength/powerlifting?” 

-Anonymous

Dear Anonymous,

First off, let me commend you for asking a great question! There are a lot of women who are curious about this subject, and yet there is not a lot of information available. Secondly, let me curse you for asking this question, as there is not a lot of information available on it.

Just kidding!

In all seriousness, from what I can find, there has really only been one major study done on the effects of birth control pills on fat loss, strength gains, and muscle gains. The findings of this study were presented at the Experimental Biology Conference in New Orleans in 2009. There were 73 healthy women ages 18-31 and they were assigned to two groups, a birth control group and a non-birth control group. They performed weight training programs doing standard upper and lower body exercises in the 6-10 rep range with 75% of their 1 rep max. The researchers performed hydrostatic weighing on the women, as well as taking blood samples and testing hormone levels like DHEA and IGF-1.

After 10 weeks, the results showed that the non-birth control group had gained 60% more lean mass than the group who was taking birth control, however both groups gained similar levels of strength and size in their arms and legs. This begs the question, what exactly did the lean mass consist of in the non-birth control group? Water? Muscle? It’s hard to know.

In my experience working with female clients, the majority of women (I would estimate 70%) who are on birth control and come off, or who start birth control after being off for a long period of time, report a positive correlation between birth control and body fat. This means that the women who come off birth control lose some body fat, and the women who start it, gain some body fat. Almost all of those women also report an increase in water weight as well. I would estimate than approximately 20-25% of my female clients report no change in body fat or water weight with birth control, and a very small 5-10% has reported a negative correlation, indicating that they lost body fat when taking birth control. Again, these are not hard-and-fast statistics; it’s simply what I’ve observed with clients, family, and friends over the years.

In regards to strength gains, I have not personally observed or read about birth control negatively affecting strength gains. Of course that’s not to say that it hasn’t or doesn’t affect some women negatively, but it doesn’t seem to be a major issue. I have been in the world of powerlifting for years and I have never once heard it referenced as negatively affecting strength gains.

If you still have major concerns about taking the pill and its possible effects on your fat loss/strength/powerlifting goals, you may want to talk to your doctor about a non-hormonal copper IUD and see if that would be a good option for you. As you know, birth control is a very sensitive and personal topic, and it is something that should be well-researched before a decision is made. There are tons of options out there, and it’s up to you and your doctor to decide what makes the most sense for you! Good luck!

 

Molly Galbraith