WIN - Frequently Asked Questions

Why Do the Words WIN and Hypothalamic Leptin Feedback Mechanism Get Used Together?

The Hypothalamic-Leptin Switch is a human survival mechanism that regulates the amount of "energy" (fat) stored in the body. Working with this switch that is inherent in all human beings ensures much easier weight normalization. The way the Hypothalamic-Leptin switch works is:

• Leptin molecules are created in fat tissue and circulate in the blood to the brain where they are sensed by the receptors in the Hypothalamus.
• If sufficient Leptin molecules are sensed by those Hypothalamus receptors (sufficient is a serum Leptin level between 4.0 ng/ml and 9.0 ng/ml), the brain is happy and signals for fat burning, which is the high energy and healthy metabolic mode.
• On the other hand, if insufficient Leptin molecules are sensed (less than 4.0 ng/ml), or if the Hypothalamus is unable to sense Leptin molecules at all because its receptors have become desensitized to Leptin, then the Hypothalamus gland will believe that a famine is occurring and will put the body in a fat storing mode (also called a sugar burning mode). This fat storing mode also results in the lowering of the thyroid energy set-point and many other unhealthy responses, all designed to minimize energy usage and maximize fat storage, in order to outlast the perceived famine.

Now, here's the modern day "rub":

• When Leptin levels go too high, the receptors in the Hypothalamus "break", that is they become desensitized to Leptin, and cannot sense it anymore.
• High Leptin levels and resultant desensitized Leptin receptors are common for the majority of sedentary people who have accumulated substantial amounts of adipose fat. Therefore, a great many people perpetually exist in the fat-storing mode, which makes burning fat (and losing weight long term) very difficult (since their Hypothalamus believes (due to broken Leptin receptors) that the body has zero stored fat) and therefore is in danger of starving to death.

Thankfully, if Leptin receptors in the Hypothalamus are repaired and Leptin levels are sufficiently reduced, by drinking WIN (instead of eating normal food), then one's body can quickly get into the fat burning mode so that weight loss proceeds rapidly.

What Do the WIN Powders Taste Like

They have a pleasant and mild, chocolate-y taste.

Can I Do the WIN Program if I'm Diabetic?

This is not a question we can answer. Some diabetics have done the WIN program successfully. However, all medical questions need to go your medical professional. Anyone who has or may have blood sugar challenges or other medical situations, should work with a wellness professional before, during and after doing the WIN protocol.

How Long Can A Person Stay On the WIN Program

We're not absolutely sure. We've had people go five months with only positive results. We anticipate no problems going longer than that, but have no reports back on longer periods.

Explain More About Why the WIN Program Works So Well?

The WIN Program works so well because it promotes the fat burning metabolic mode. These are the main goals of WIN:

• Heal Hypothalamus Receptors — the first goal of the WIN protocol is to heal damaged Leptin receptors in the Hypothalamus. It does this primarily through the healing power of Risotriene/Ricatein.
• Decrease Leptin — the second goal of the WIN protocol is to decrease the production of Leptin in fat cells so that the body will continuously operate in the fat burning metabolic mode. Lowered Leptin levels will be the result of low blood sugar since Leptin production goes down as blood sugar goes down.
• Avoid Counterproductive Responses — Finally, the third goal of the WIN protocol is to avoid counter productive responses in each cell of the body. There are nutrient sensors in each cell of the body called MTOR. These nutrient sensors detect a variety of nutrients circulating in the blood. If circulating levels of minerals or amino acids are out of range (too high or too low), those will be detected and the cells will turn off cellular maintenance or go into a stress mode. Typical dieting does only two of the above three things, and often allows the body to go into a stress mode (due to insufficient incoming minerals, amino acids, etc.).

It is the intense amount and variety of nutrients in WIN that help to prevent stress responses while enticing the body to get into a fat burning mode. WIN works because it repairs Hypothalamic Leptin sensors, lowers Leptin production through low blood sugar and prevents stress responses by providing balanced amounts of nutrients.

Why Aren't WIN Weight Loss Graphs in a Straight Line?

Virtually no type of progress in the real world goes in a straight line. This is particularly true of weight loss.

The body is balancing many things while it burns fat, such what to do with skin and blood vessels that are not needed when the underlying fat tissue is burned up — the proteins in the skin and blood vessels need to get autolyzed (disintegrated into amino acids) and this takes time to accomplish. Also, most especially the body is managing stored toxins. The two main places where toxins are stored in the body are fat and water (just below the skin). While on the WIN program, as fat is burned up for energy, toxins (that were previously stored in the fat) are released into the blood. The body will quickly, and temporarily store these toxins in retained water beneath the skin (the retained water has weight and so weight fluctuates as toxins are stored... before gradually processing the toxins out of the body. When retained water is expelled the weight will drop suddenly (instead of in a gradual manner).

What if I "need" to eat or drink something at a social event because I don’t want to appear to be anti-social by refusing food and drink?

Participate with a glass of water or celery stick. In most cases, this will satisfy the requirement to be sociable. If truly, you must eat more at a particular occasion, then eat a small amount of protein and salad greens (but, don’t eat the croûtons, dressing or fruit). Be warned - a rather small amount of carbs or sugar (including fruit sugar) can put a complete stop to the fat burning mode and cause the stress and delay of several days in getting back into a fat burning mode.

What if I need to do extreme physical labor while doing WIN — will I find it difficult to work as hard as needed because of the scant calories in the WIN powders?

Most people, while doing the WIN protocol, carry out a normal active lifestyle, including many will do regular sessions of weight training or exercise at the gym. This type of exertion is not a problem.

If, however, the calorie burning demands of the tasks to be done are extremely high (a 40 mile competitive bike ride in the mountains, for instance), and your body hasn’t yet become an efficient fat burner, it could be possible for you to run out of energy. So, when preparing to do especially demanding work, you should be preemptive by taking two extra servings of the WIN powders or an even better option would be consuming Parent Omega Oils (they will keep you in fat burning mode while giving a lot of extra energy). Learn more at Healthy-Living.org/peos.

If one is sweating a great deal, there is also the issue of replacement of electrolytes. Electrolyte loss can be a significant challenge for anyone, whether they are doing the WIN protocol or not. To replace electrolytes, there are many types of electrolyte or mineral products. We recommend one without added sugar. Kona Deep Sea Minerals or Body Genesis would be excellent or just some sea salt in water.

How did WIN come to be?

The WIN program was designed at the request of a neighbor/friend who wanted to lose weight by juicing but found the juicing daily grind to be too difficult, IE the tremendous work of buying the vegetables, juicing them, cleaning up the juicing machine, putting the vegetables back in the refrigerator and cleaning the kitchen. Also, the juices didn't taste very good unless fruits were added which slowed down weight loss. The original goal was to eliminate the calories from fruits, eliminate the onerous and time demanding work of juicing/cleanup and make sure that weight loss was healthy by providing all needed nutrients including proteins.

• The first goal of WIN was to supercharge the body with nutrients as occurs with juicing. The second goal was to make it easy and quick — to avoid the effort of buying and juicing numerous exotic fruits and vegetables (and the onerous cleanup afterwards). WIN uses numerous vegetables and low-sugar fruits that are picked at the peak of nutrient content and immediately dried at low temperature so that no nutrition is lost. This is why WIN is much better than juicing in terms of nutrients.
• The other goal of WIN was to follow the dietary suggestions from Ron Rosedale (longevity researcher who discovered the relationship between serum Leptin levels and metabolic mode, fat burning or fat storing) in regard to lowering blood sugar so that Leptin production would be decreased in fat cells, while maintaining adequate but not excessive amounts of amino acids, in order to avoid MTOR driven down regulation of cellular maintenance)

After Reaching One's Target Weight, How Does One Avoid Rebounding?

The most important thing that needs to be done to avoid rebounding is to continue with the WIN protocol until Leptin levels "come down" to the low side of the fat burning range. The fat burning range is 4 to 9 ng/ml and the low side of that range is between 4 and 6 ng/ml. The reason for continuing with WIN until reaching the low side of the fat burning range is that Leptin levels fluctuate during the day based on blood sugar. By being on the low side of the fat burning range, even if one eats food late at night, blood sugar levels and Leptin levels (which will rise significantly at night) will remain below 9. This is important because if Leptin levels go above 9, the high levels will start to re-damage Leptin receptors which can re-instigate fat storing (sugar burning) mode. Avoiding this is important to avoid rebounding.

The likelihood for Leptin to rise above 9 ng/ml is highest when one eats large evening meals and doesn't get enough sleep. So, make it a habit to stop eating four to five hours before you go to sleep... and if you want to eat a large evening meal... make it a Leptin friendly meal.

What Things Can Deter the Benefits of the WIN Protocol?

Actually, that is a great question. Here are some of the answers:

• High levels of cortisol that will result from anxiousness, jealousy, pain, fear, grief or lack of sleep will impede results. That's because the body reacts to cortisol to "force sugar burning" and fat storing. Therefore, in the face of high cortisol, one needs to meditate, touch the earth (earth grounding reduces cortisol), watch comedies (laughter is a best medicine because it reduces cortisol). Also, chocolate reduces cortisol and the WIN products have plenty of chocolate - so just drinking an additional WIN drink will help immensely.
• Sleeping earthed will help reduce cortisol levels.

Please explain Leptin and the Fat Burning Mode "Better"?

Leptin is a chemical messenger molecule, that can be likened to an odorous chemical. The Hypothalamus gland "smells" the Leptin molecule in circulating blood. If the Leptin smell is too strong Leptin receptors in the Hypothalamus can become damaged (insensitive to Leptin)... just like the nose can become insensitive to smells that are too strong (like dirty diapers or sulfur). If Leptin receptors are damaged, they must be repaired or else they will not be able to sense Leptin and the body will go into a fat storing mode and quickly gain weight. That's why the Leptin protocol ought to be continued until blood levels of Leptin are in the fat burning range, and preferably on the low side of the fat burning range so that the Leptin receptors won't be easily damaged again if blood sugar temporarily rises (increasing Leptin production temporarily, too).

How Does One Know if He or She Has Reached a Low Normal Leptin Range

One could get Leptin tests from a medical doctor in order to know one's Leptin levels (unfortunately, insurance won't pay for it). A less expensive way is to not monitor Leptin, but to monitor body fat percentage, since this can be done much more easily or even one's shape compared against photographs of typical figures at the various body fat percentages. Since Leptin is made in fat... keeping minimal amounts of body fat is a reasonable goal. Men should maintain body fat percentages between 10 and 15 percent. Women should maintain body fat percentages between 17 and 22. Levels that are lower than that will result in too low a level of Leptin (triggering fat storing mode). And levels that are higher than this can result in too high of levels of Leptin on those occasions when one eats late at night. So, keeping body fat levels at a low, but not excessively low amount is the smartest tactic. One can get body fat percentage measured at a local gym or at many health food stores.

What Are the Best Tactics for Maximizing Fat Loss

The Standard WIN Protocol is great, and works well for most people. However, the following tactics can be used to turbo-charge fat loss at a faster pace, or to get someone into fat burning whose body is resisting the fat burning mode:

• Consume Arginine at the end of each day — Arginine taken at the end of the day on an empty stomach will increase levels of Human Growth Hormone, which will thicken muscles, help one sleep better and help reset (sensitize) the Hypothalamus even faster. Thickened muscles means a higher calorie burn rate each day and the better one sleeps the more fat burning occurs, also. So, this is a tactic that some people really like to use. Arginine also improves cardiovascular function (an extra plus).
• Glycogen (stored sugar) depleting exercise — this would be any exercise done for at least 40 minutes that causes a sustained rapid heartbeat, huffing, puffing and sweating (in other words, your body has to work at a good pace for 40 minutes). How this helps is that when glycogen (stored sugar) and blood sugar are both used up in these exertions, then the body is forced to burn fat to continue those exertions. Once the body is solidly in the fat burning mode, the body will continue to burn fat for quite some time after those exertions are ended (until glycogen stores are replenished in a few hours). So, vigorous exercising is a great way to force several hours of fat burning to occur. The goal is to get the body to accept fat burning as the new norm.
• Saturate the body with Atomic Iodine — more than any other single element of nutrition, atomic Iodine has the ability to make sure that the Thyroid gland is operating in a high energy output mode (i.e. that the metabolic set-point is high). 95% of North Americans are low in Iodine... therefore, for 95% of these people, adding Iodine is a very wise thing to do in order to ensure a high metabolic rate. For the other 5% of the population, supplemental Iodine won't hurt nor help, as the supplemental Iodine will go unused and just be eliminated from the body. Since an under performing Thyroid will limit significantly one's energy burn rate, supplementing with Iodine could very well be the needed impetus to more rapid weight loss. Learn more about Atomic Iodine. A bottle of Atomic Iodine is therefore a great investment for most people.
• Deep breathing and drinking plenty of water — fat leaves the body primarily as exhaled carbon dioxide. It follows, therefore, that deep breathing and consuming plenty of water will result in faster elimination of fat.
• Sleep more - sleeping more increases fat loss. The research is there... seven to nine hours of sleep means that you will burn off more fat than if you only sleep five or six hours.
• Cold baths and showers — Ice baths and cold showers can increase good fat (brown fat) and increase burning off of bad fat (white fat, adipose tissue). As a caveat or warning — make sure that you go slowly — after having been approved for cold temperature sessions by your wellness professional.
• Lowering cortisol levels —high levels of cortisol that will result from anxiousness, jealousy, pain, fear, grief or lack of sleep will prevent fat loss, by putting the body in sugar mode, fat storing mode. Solutions: one can meditate, go outside and touch the earth barefoot (earth grounding reduces cortisol) or Sleeping earthed will help reduce cortisol levels., watch comedies (laughter is a best medicine because it reduces cortisol). Also, chocolate reduces cortisol and the WIN products have plenty of chocolate - so just drinking an additional WIN drink will help immensely.