Hello everyone,

Back in June I posted my frustration at lack of progress after nearly 12 months doing the 5/2 diet. I initially lost 4 kilos (although it did take a few months) and then nothing.

Although I have been exercising regularly and have never been a big drinker and always eaten healthy food, in my late forties I started to gain weight – due to hormonal changes I was told.

People on this forum responded that I had to look at my TDEE etc and that I was probably overeating. I knew that I wasn’t so I decided to keep a diary for two weeks of everything I ate.

I then went to see a Naturopath and explained that I had been doing the 5/2 diet and showed her my diary. She was aware of the diet and she looked at my diary and said that my overall TDEE was fine.

She then did some tests including a saliva test. Two weeks later she phoned to tell me that I had a big problem with Adrenal Fatigue due to really high cortisol levels.

The strenuous exercise and the fasting were actually exacerbating the problem. She asked me if I found the diet days difficult – and I responded that I did. That even after months, it was not getting any easier. I know friends who said they didn’t find it hard at all.

So, in the end she has put me on supplements, advised me to abandon the diet until my adrenals are healed and then I can give it another go.

She also said stop doing vigorous exercise – yoga and walking is the way to go.
It all seemed so counter intuitive, but that’s where I’m at and it may take six to twelve months for the healing to take place and then I can begin the fast diet again.

Hi Dummerchen,

Thank you for your reply. I looked at that article and it does give me food for thought. I don’t think I’ve got depression or fibromyalgia as the article suggests are possible alternatives to those symptoms.

I do however have a high stress job and had glandular fever last year (which I actually thought was a very bad virus) and only got a diagnosis after I went back to work and didn’t get better.

My sister (who lives abroad) is a Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner and her view is that there are conditions that western medicine does not fully understand or explore. My weight gain is such an example. I went to doctors who basically said: Well some women in perimenopause put on weight and we don’t really know why. Perhaps you should do more exercise. I was going to the gym five times a week – working so hard that I would come out looking like I’d just had a shower – so their advice wasn’t very helpful.

I have been taking the supplements now for about a month and I have noticed a change. I’m a lot calmer than I was previously and I am actually sleeping a lot better.