Originally Posted by Blancita

There are a few people on this board who insist hormones have nothing to do with weight gain or loss. A silly concept actually, because hormones are what drive us, and LEPTIN is a hormone that drives our appetite and speed of our metabolism. Leptin makes us eat less or more, depending upon how much leptin is floating around (its created in our fat cells so fat cells are very metabolically active), and leptin also governs our metabolisms, making it speed up and slow down depending on the levels (probably quite a bit responsible for the "starvation mode" we hear about when one under eats and then stops losing weight). Obviously birth control hormones also effect our weight. Just look on every packet of pills. I was on mirena, an IUD that supposedly causes absolutely no weight gain whatsoever but there are hundreds of stories on the internet about the weight gain that these women simply never experienced until they got on this BC.

Wishes believes even pregnancy weight gain is the woman's fault and has nothing to do with hormones and all to do with eating. HELLLO!!! Hormones govern our personality, our weight and lots of stuff in between. There are zillions of women who never had a weight problem, but low and behold, they gain weight when pregnant or on birth control. Obviously it is the hormones causing this. Not only does the body say "EAT MORE" it also HOLDS ON TO FAT, meaning it slows down your metabolism, for the "baby". And sometimes the BC makes your body think your pregnant, hence holding on to fat for a baby that's not even coming.

Yes, wishes got into the 300s from her eating and exercising behavior, but that doesn't mean everyone else in the world is just like her.

Hormones are very powerful, and they often work on our subconsicous, so when our leptin or other hormones say EAT MORE, often our conscious mind is no match for our subconsicous mind. That's why its best to address the underlying reasons if they exist, and then things should fall into place from there.