I'm also in the cortisol/adrenal fatigue situation. I've been looking into this for a while now.

Although diet definitely helps, this problem has to be resolved at it's core (vs dealing with it's symptoms). That is, the most obvious things to do are to decrease cortisol and reverse adrenal fatigue. Most of these come from lifestyle changes (getting enough sleep, decreasing work and exercise stress, increasing exposure to sunlight, etc.)

The same rule applies to all other aspects of a lifestyle: decrease any practice that is a potential stressor.

With regards to dietary considerations. In order to decrease the stress on your system, I would recommend increasing your carb intake to around 100g a day (as being in a state of ketosis adds extra stress to the system). Carbs should come mostly from starches and you should always avoid fructose. I am assuming you are at least 95% paleo, if not, getting there will help a lot.

Don't fast or IF or skip breakfast, although these practices are generally beneficial, they are only so when one's body is healthy. Again, they add unnecessary stress.

As for workouts, they should also be less "stressful" i.e. avoid metcons and endurance exercices, go for heavy lifts instead (press, lifts, cleans etc.) , not too much though. Don't workout on an empty stomach.

Other, less important stuff: drink green tea, contains L-theanine which helps with managing stress. Supplement with magnesium, adrenal fatigue decreases your body's retention.

That list came from page 142-143 of the Paleo Solution. :-)

Another great resource is a book called Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome by Dr. James Wilson.

I've never heard of increasing carbs (doesn't mean it won't work), but I did read that an aversion to consuming carbs unless mixed with fat and protein is a symptom of adrenal fatigue.

A few other recommends: - Sleeping in until 9am (if lifestyle permits). SLEEP really is key! - Adding sea salt to your diet - decreasing stress - taking vit C

Dr. Wilson really does a great job explaining the deal. You can pick up the book fairly cheap too - his site for about $15 and Amazon for $8 ish.

For some additional perspective:

http://www.dannyroddy.com/main/2012/4/16/the-road-to-nowhere-part-ii-thinking-you-have-adrenal-fatigu.html

Damn...sounds like you were describing me. I am definately interested in any advice on the boards

Do yourself a favor and skip the high-fructose bananas. The rest are generally well-tolerated. That being said, you ought to start at 100g and see what happens. If you exceed your glycogen storage capacity, you'll begin to gain fat. Keep track of your fat levels with measurements of your hips, waist, a scale and the mirror. I don't know if you're active or doing resistance training, but you'll store a lot more glucose as glycogen if you ingest it shortly after a workout. If 100g is too much, adjust it accordingly. You shouldn't be consuming the same amount every day unless your activity is identical day to day.

I would wager that you are currently in a depleted state and could recharge your glycogen for a few days before really getting an accurate feel for the correct amount. Also, keep in mind that there is a significant amount of water that is stored in glycogen, so some amount of weight gain is expected.

I can relate to your problems! Apparently, adaptogens and cod liver oil help with adrenal fatigue/handling stress. I just started taking both daily, so I can't report yet on any changes, but perhaps these supplements are worth looking into for you too. I recommend going to your local health food store and poking around/asking for advice.

I don't know a lot about adrenal fatigue. But with your carbs being so low I would not go full-tilt toward reintroducing them. Rather I'd reintroduce them a little at a time. People on Atkins are told to increase by 5g a week. You could probably go as much as 10g. Increase by 5-10g a week, see how you feel, ramp it up again the following week if you need to.

Good for you sourcing them from fruit and veggies though. Grains would probably overcomplicate the situation.

You might think about monitoring your blood sugar, too. For optimal health you shouldn't go over 140 mg/dl an hour after you finish eating.

Testing will be the only real way of determining this answer. Sleep and its quality are also another independent variable that has to be checked as well.

sgro and CheshyCat have you guys had any success in the past year? I've been having similar symptoms especially with sgro. I have some really good, productive days, but more often than not the brain fog and lethargy gets the best of me. I've been getting a bunch of blood tests but nothing has turned up yet. Awaiting full thyroid + cortisol panels...