The Pill and the Physique: Unveiling Birth Control's Effect on Your Body

00:00Real quick, if you want to learn more about macronutrients and understand that methodology on how they can help you achieve your body composition goals of changing the way your body looks, I put together a free 15-minute training where I dive into macronutrients and how you can control your body for the rest of your life with them. That link is in the description below. Click on it after listening to the show today. Fourth day of taking birth control. Wow. I was on an emotional freaking roller coaster.

00:30What is going on, my friends? Welcome back to the show. Look, I'm not going to do the opening today. Y'all know. The WarriorBabe Show, lose body fat, build muscle, be strong, feel insanely confident. What I got to say is, look, it really, really pains me when I cannot keep on track with the release of these podcasts. And I know, again, last week, which, you know, it's maybe outdated if you're new to the show.

01:03We've consistently been doing three episodes a week since the birth of this podcast since January of 2023. And these last couple of weeks have been inconsistent. And I am somebody who loves to be consistent in all areas of my life. But when it comes to the projects I'm currently working on, there is things that are of priority. And while I love doing this podcast and releasing these episodes, three a week right now is just not manageable for me.

01:34So I don't want to go weeks not doing it. The team talked and we came to the conclusion that at least rolling out two a week. I can manage that. All right. It's just that third one. It's like I can knock out two episodes in one day. But then the third one comes and it's like I place it on my calendar and then I overlook it because something of importance comes up or needs my focus. And I just wipe that one out entirely. So I'm going to stick to two and I can hone in on two.

02:07There may be some weeks that there's one, but at least we're not missing entire weeks. OK, so I just wanted to lay that out. I know you guys love the show. I know you guys show up with every single new episode. So I appreciate that so freaking much. But I just want to be transparent, honest, vulnerable with you because I've been so inconsistent and I hate that. But I know that you guys will understand and appreciate my authenticity. I can never say that word right with you all here on the show. OK, so let's just dive into this one today. This was a question that I got.

02:37We did like a live Q&A where we had six participants live with me actually on like Facebook. And I got to speak with them live, got to see their face, got to hang out with them, give them live coaching. And they had to submit questions ahead of time. We had like 50 some questions come through. We only were able to pick at least like nine people. Right. But of those like 50 some questions, this one actually popped up a couple of times. So I wanted to take the space on this podcast to be able to answer to answer it,

03:10because I feel like if this question popped up a couple of times, then, you know, some of you guys are thinking about this or have thought about this or just want some clarity around the topic. So that's what we're going to dive in today. We're going to talk about birth control. Now, before I dive into talking about the birth control, I want you guys to know that I am not an OBGYN. I am not a doctor. I am not in, you know, the really scope of practice to be able to prescribe things or say things that, you know, would make you guys go and change things or go about things differently.

03:41So please know that if there's anything on this podcast that resonates with you, go and consult with your doctor about it first before you make any changes. Now, I do want to talk about, first of all, just a story of mine and my opinion and my perception of birth control, because I actually have a story that has been really ingrained with me since childhood. And then I had stuck onto that experience and formed my own opinion about it. And I'm actually grateful that I have done what I've done throughout my, you know, 20s and 30s

04:15and the ability to either go on it or not be on it, birth control that is. I'm actually grateful for the experience I've had as childhood. And I'm going to share, I'm going to elaborate on all of this. I'm going to elaborate on my recent, you know, interaction with actually being on birth control. And then I just want to talk about its effects that your body can go through for fat loss and muscle building if you are somebody that is taking birth control. And again, if any of this resonates with you guys, please, you know, make sure you guys consult with your doctor before you go and change anything, because it's not my scope of practice to be able to, you know,

04:50prescribe that you should not be on it or should be on it. Okay, my friends. So first and foremost, the story that I have for you. So when I was, I think, around the age of when I got my menstrual cycle, I think it was like 14 years old, or maybe even younger than that. I don't know exactly. I don't remember exactly. I just, I remember the morning when I first got it and, you know, praise my stepmom because my parents are divorced. And I just think if I didn't have my stepmom in my life at that time that day, my dad and I would have been having a really awkward conversation.

05:21Okay. So anyway, being that my stepmom was in my life, at this time, my dad and my stepmom were working on having my sister or my half sister, I would say I call her my sister because she is my sister. But so they were working on having her and my stepmom was having a really hard time. And so she ended up having to go through the whole IVF process. And my sister is an IVF baby. But the reason why she was having such a hard time is because she was put on birth control her basically her entire life.

05:54And she had just kind of came off of this and she was in her mid-20s, later 20s at this time. And she had, or maybe even her early 30s, I can't remember. But she had just came off like that birth. They were taking her off of that so she could try and get pregnant. And I remember I was standing in like the hallway slash bathroom having this conversation with my stepmom about how she was having a really hard time having a baby because of the birth control that she was on her entire life. And this really stuck with me because I knew at that time, like I wanted a family.

06:27I wanted to have kids later on in my later years. And I didn't want to have a problem. I didn't want to have that experience. So I made that kind of experience slash promise myself at that point in time when I saw my stepmom. It was more than just a conversation. It was like she was struggling. She really wanted a baby. It was really hard. She couldn't make it happen. And they went through this whole entire process. And for those of you guys that can, you know, resonate that I've been through IVF, you guys know that it's a challenge, right? It's not, it's hard. It's hard for a woman and a couple to go through that experience.

06:58So I kind of at that frame of my life was like, I don't, I don't want to go on birth control. I don't want to go on it. I don't want to experience this. I don't want to experience the pain, the frustration, the struggle, the hardship, all of the things that she was going through. So I chose to not go on birth control. I have never up until I'll share that next. But throughout my teens, my 20s, like it's a common thing for women, for parents to put their daughter on birth control because they're trying to keep their daughter safe of not getting pregnant or, you know,

07:30if there is ever a situation that there's unprotected sex, yada, yada, you know all the jazz, right? So, but I chose not to go on it. And God bless, none of those things ever happened to me. And, you know, there's such thing as the pull-out freaking method, okay? Okay, now I'm getting a little TMI. But, you know, you feel me on that one, right? Okay, so throughout my years, I never chose to go on birth control. And I do believe that that has helped me. It's a variable that has helped me, right? There's so many other things in terms of variables, you guys,

08:01as maybe why you can't lose body fat or why you can't gain muscle or, you know, why you're experiencing weight gain, okay? There's many variables to that. It's not just birth control if you are somebody that is on it. It may be just a variable to it, right? If you're gaining weight, let's look at your diet. Are you fucking overeating? Like, are you eating tons and tons of calories on a daily basis? Or are you undereating, right? Like, so there's variables to it. You can't just lean on that. If you're on birth control and you're struggling to lose weight, it's the birth control's fault. So just remember that.

08:31So yeah, I think that through my years, I didn't go on it. It was a variable that probably did help me play a role in keeping my hormones balanced, keeping the natural normal process that happens within a female body every single month. Like, I'm so on point regular with every single menstrual period that I have. And I do believe, in my opinion, that it's because I didn't take any of these things. First, before I talk about the next story, I want to say that the things that your body experiences when you do take birth control and how it affects your body hormonally is actually,

09:04in my opinion, like a pretty big deal. Um, you are, you're basically with, you know, birth control, IUDs, patches, injections, anything that is of the course that tries to prevent you from getting pregnant or, or, uh, you know, kind of like stop that process from happening internally. These things are synthetic versions of hormones. So think of it, that's the way I like to think of it is you're pumping into your body synthetic hormones. Okay. And like, look, maybe you have to go on birth control for medical reasons and diagnosis and things like that. I'm just placing my, my, my firm opinion on like a human healthy body, right?

09:39Me, for example, and why I didn't choose to go on it. And when I later learned what this whole thing is and what they are, and then synthetic versions of hormones, synthetic versions of estrogen and progesterone that are basically being pumped into your body, your body is going to, it can be affected hormonally in many ways. One of the biggest ways is that the whole reason why women go on birth control is to prevent the, uh, process of ovulation. And so the process of ovulation is in the primary function of birth control is to prevent the

10:10maturation of a release of an egg from the ovaries and be able to be impregnated. Right. And so that process gets stopped by taking birth control. And that tricks the body into thinking that, Hey guys, love so much that you guys are listening to this podcast. If you ever want to have the video version of this, which usually has more effects and all that good stuff. For those of you who are visual learners, check it out. YouTube channel, Warrior Babe, if that's what you like. Either way, keep enjoying the show.

10:40And that whole process, it basically, you're playing around with those hormones internally, and you're trying to alter the normal natural process of your body going through ovulation. And so that right there, like in the best way that I can kind of explain it, because again, like I'm not entirely like, I don't know so much about this, but I have understandings of things that I read and my personal experience. And, you know, being in this field of helping women that want to lose body fat and want to lose muscle and the things that may be of a factor to it.

11:12So your body, again, like I said, like this is being kind of, this is being prevented. And you got to think that at a time of when a woman ovulates, so many, it's actually an incredible experience. If you dive into more studies and research on it, there are so many good hormones that get released, there's so many natural ways of like a woman to be fully expressive during ovulation. And like these things are being prevented when you're on birth control. So not really in the terms of fat loss and muscle, but just overall in the terms of like

11:45mood and expressiveness for a female. But this is what this is what birth control is doing. It's a way of which that it's being affected within your hormones by you taking it. And like overarching, it's synthetic. They're not real hormones. It's a, it's technically like a drug, right? So you're giving your body synthetic versions of hormones of estrogen and progesterone. Now, another thing, and I'm going to dive into talking about like how the effects of all of

12:17this take place when you're trying to lose body fat and build muscle. But I want to share a recent experience that I had with actually having to take birth control. Okay. So last month, or yeah, about a month ago, or a little over a month ago, I was in the process, actually, it is a month ago is the beginning of July. I was in the process of freezing my eggs. Okay, so it's kind of the first half of I it is the first half of IVF. But we don't go into turning my eggs into an embryo and then implanting them back in to be

12:49pregnant. I go through the injections of basically injecting my body with hormones to prevent this whole process of releasing the eggs. I want the eggs to stay in my body. But the before injecting myself with the hormones, I had to be on birth control for a week and a half. And because I am so in tune with my body. And because I can I feel a lot of things because of just the overall wellness and health I have provided myself throughout the years of being on my fitness journey.

13:20The fourth day of taking birth control. Wow, I was on an emotional freaking roller coaster. And because all of my hormones were being shifted. And so marrying my understanding of birth control, the experience of like my stepmom, reading and understanding that this is then you're putting these hormones into your body. That day four and on, I was like, geez, man, like this thing is this is this is wild to me. This is just wild to me that I was taking it after so long of being so against it.

13:53Guys, my first day of having to take the birth control pill, because I had never taken it because I have all these thoughts around it and these opinions around it. But I the first day that I had to take it for the whole process of freezing my eggs. I remember it took me 10 minutes to take the damn pill because I just had all of these feels about it. And I remember sharing it on my story. And I was like, I don't know, am I being overly dramatic? Like, and you guys reassured me, which thank you so much. I wasn't. You know, you guys had these opinions, too. We're in the same boat together. Some of you guys obviously take birth control for medical reasons.

14:25And I totally understand that. But that day that I shared that for you with you guys, I just felt a little bit of a bit more relieved around like my personal opinion around birth control. And then actually like having to take it. And I was just like fighting myself in that moment because of all the things that I feel about it. And man, it was I really like kind of, you know, open to the world of, yeah, Nikki, you're right on how you feel about it. Because I actually did get to experience it. And it was a whirlwind of emotions. It was up, down, all around crying randomly, just random.

14:59And all of the things. So and it's because you're giving your body hormones, like I said, to basically prevent this whole process from happening. And then I had to dive further into it. I had to give my body even more hormones to really prevent the whole process of ovulation. And just knowing what ovulation does and how the experience is for a female and being suppressed of that. And then being able now to experience it because I'm in my phase where I just like I track my cycle. I use the app flow. I love that thing. But now being like this is my ovulation period right now and being able to experience, you

15:34know, what I missed out on last month. I just am so grateful for the ovulation period even more. I was suppressed of it last month. That was the first time I was ever suppressed of it. Obviously, I'm doing it for a purpose. And I want you guys to know that like I chose to do that. It was for a reason and for a really good reason. But like I really assess and I'm aware of things. And so being suppressed of it and having it right now, it's like, holy cow, like people that are on birth control suppress this every single freaking month. And it's such a beautiful thing for women to experience.

16:05Now, anyway, these are just like the effects of it, right? Just kind of like high level effects. Um, because I don't feel so comfortable talking about like the in-depth effects because, uh, I don't have, this is again my personal opinion, my personal preference on it. So now I want to take the time and space to talk about really high level again, um, the effects that birth control could have on fat loss and on, on building muscle. So I want to talk more to the building muscle one, because in terms of fat loss, there has

16:37been more studies that, um, like the birth control doesn't really cause significant weight gain, which I know a lot of people have thought that, that like, oh, I'm on birth control and it causes a lot of weight gain. And people kind of use that as a, as a crutch when they gain weight, when really it's more so of your lifestyle factors that are causing you to gain weight. Could it be a variable? Absolutely. But let's pull back the cover here and look at the pages a little bit more closely. And what are you eating on a regular basis?

17:08How much alcohol are you drinking? How much sleep are you getting? How much water are you drinking? Are you, you know, having daily movement? And typically those things weigh a little bit heavier than the ability to say it's the birth control's fault. So I don't really want to, it can ha, it can be a variable to fat loss, but it's not like the overarching reason to why you can't lose weight. Yes, it does play in a factor with your hormones. But again, I don't believe it to be the overarching reason as to why you can't lose weight. Um, it's typically that some things aren't consistent elsewhere, mainly diet, mainly what you're

17:43eating. Now, I do want to take a moment to speak to the muscle building one because there was actually a research, but hear me out because there's more research as is needed to in this area to fully understand the effects a little bit more. But there was a research in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning where it found women who took oral birth control, oral contraceptives, had smaller muscle mass compared to a control group after a 10 week resistance training program. And so meaning like the people that were on birth control, that group had smaller muscle

18:15mass gains, the ability to build more muscle compared to a control group after a 10 week period, people with a control group that weren't taking birth control. And it's mainly because of the obvious impacts of birth control on hormones, but mainly because the effects on the hormones that are important for muscle growth in terms of testosterone. So because testosterone is a really important hormone in the ability to build more muscle. And obviously those things kind of get altered when you're taking a contraceptive.

18:47So that one really high level just wanted to be able to speak to because I think that is a play in why women can't build a lot of muscle in general is because we don't have as tons and tons and tons of testosterone as men do. But if there's something even more haltering your ability to build muscle because of this, that like we don't have that much testosterone to begin with. And then you have another added variable to the fact of lowering your testosterone, which then could be a variable into why you can't build more muscle.

19:18So, you know, overarching, this is just things to understand, to gain perspective around. Now I want, I need you guys to then again, understand like everybody has their own individual response to birth control methods and they just vary, vary widely. So please, you know, if anything does resonate with you in this, right? Take it to your doctor, talk to your doctor about it. Um, formulate a game plan if you are on it and you do just want to have the autonomy and advocate for yourself to say, Hey, I want to come off of this.

19:51Go talk to your doctor about it. But I just wanted to take this, hold this space for this podcast to be able to talk about this specific topic that kind of just keeps coming up that I'm seeing in either whether the Q&A that we just had, or even on sometimes on Instagram, I get DMs on like, what are my thoughts around this? What's my opinion around this? And so here it is, here's my thoughts, here's my opinion. If anything resonate with you again, like I said, go take it to your doctor, have the conversation. And you know, I'm always going to come here on this podcast and give opinions, perspectives,

20:21what I think in terms of any way that's going to just help you to have a better experience with your journey of decreasing body fat, building more muscle, and then just feeling more confident in your skin. All right, guys. So I hope you guys enjoy this podcast and I'll see you in the next one. Hey guys, real quick. If you're interested in taking your body to the next level, lose body fat, build more muscle, feel more confident. Do it alongside one of our 30 plus professional coaches. Work one-on-one with her to eliminate all of the guesswork that you may have.

20:51And all you need to do is just do the work that she tells you to do to get to those goals of yours. And to learn more, click the link below this podcast and apply to our VIP program right now.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.