Right around my 35th birthday last year, my body started to look and feel different. The things I was previously doing to maintain my weight didn’t seem to be working any longer. I had put on about 10 lbs despite not changing anything with my diet and exercise program.
While I wasn’t overweight, I was beginning to feel uncomfortable in my skin and clothing and was feeling frustrated with the scale not budging despite doing everything I knew to do to lose weight. I tried many things over the course of the last year to drop the 10lbs and one of them was Winona.
Winona offers HRT (hormone replacement therapy) for women who are struggling with perimenopause and menopause symptoms. In this article, I’m going to discuss my experience with Winona and how it may have contributed to my eventual weight loss and feeling so much better.
Taking the First Steps
After months of feeling frustrated and defeated, I decided to get to the bottom of my symptoms, which extended beyond weight gain. For context, I was diagnosed with PCOS about 10 years prior when I was trying to conceive my first baby. While I was never presented with the most common PCOS symptoms like obesity, facial hair, and acne, I never had a regular cycle, didn’t ovulate, and always had the gut feeling that my hormones were “off.”
Aside from the weight gain, I was experiencing low libido, anxiety, and almost constant hunger (which was making it very hard to stay on track with my nutrition).
After seeing my regular doctor and having her tell me that my labs were all “normal,” I decided to seek a hormone specialist to help me further. The first thing we did was take a full body x-ray which revealed that I had a ton of inflammation in my body. She also ordered in-depth labs that included a full hormone panel, DUTCH Test, and stool test.
I completed all of the testing and discovered that some of my hormone levels were definitely off and I was also dealing with some gut health issues as well. Unfortunately, the practitioner who I was seeing abruptly left the practice right when I was getting to the stage of treatment, so I needed to pivot a bit and take things into my own hands.
I was already aware of Winona, so I decided to take the next steps just to see if Winona would be a good fit for me. I definitely had my reservations as I was only 35 and didn’t really think I could be in menopause, however, I know that perimenopause can start as early as the mid-to-late 30s which is where I was at.
Discovering Winona
I went onto Winona’s website and proceeded with their quiz to see if I would be a good candidate for HRT. Based on the outcome of the quiz, I was. During this time I had also joined Winona’s support group on Facebook where I was reading tons of testimonials from women who were in a similar situation and were seeing results from the treatment.
Before I consented to purchase the treatments, I asked to speak with a doctor from Winona who could review my DUTCH Test and blood work. I was connected with Dr. Michael Green who advised that he read my test results. Here was his response:
“Hi, I reviewed both your blood tests and your Dutch test. It looks like you are in excellent health. Nothing stands out as being grossly abnormal or worrisome in any way.
Your symptoms suggest that you would benefit from a small amount of estrogen and progesterone replacement as well as DHEA supplementation. I think the cream and the DHEA will work well for you.
Do you have any questions for me or would you like me to go ahead and send the medications to you?”
I felt confident with his answers and evaluation and decided to go ahead and place the order.
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My First Shipment and Treatment
The estrogen and progesterone came in a cream form that I was advised to apply to any area of my body that doesn’t contain hair (except for the breasts) every day. Dr. Green advised that many women choose to apply it to their wrists or forearms. The DHEA is a capsule that I was advised to take daily as well.
I was a little nervous to start because of all the negative things I’ve heard about HRT, however, I am well aware that most of those things have been disproven and I truly felt assured after seeing all of the women in the community seeing relief as well as my conversation with Dr. Green who appeared to genuinely care about Winona members.
I started taking both treatments on the first day they arrived. I applied the cream right before bed and took the DHEA around that time as well. I didn’t note any kind of symptoms or results right away. I felt pretty much normal.
It’s important to note that during this time, I was also focusing on re-aligning my nutrition and exercise. I felt as though I was putting too much stress on myself both from a physical and a mental perspective and that the issues I was experiencing could quite possibly be related to stress. I reduced exercise frequency and intensity and began focusing on hitting my daily protein and calorie goals again, but not in an obsessive way, more of a laid-back approach.
Experiencing Results
The first noteworthy results I experienced from taking Winona HRT happened about 2 weeks into consistent treatment when I realized the ravenous hunger I was constantly experiencing had diminished significantly. I also started to experience my sex drive slowly coming back.
Within 4 weeks of taking Winona, re-aligning my nutrition, and working on reducing stress in my life, I was down about 5lbs on the scale. I attribute much of this to inflammation in my body that was finally released.
I never experienced any negative side effects from taking HRT that I can contribute solely to the treatments. I think the low dose I was on really helped to minimize any potential unwanted side effects. I continued to take Winona for a total of 3 months and by the end of my treatment, I was down 10 lbs and was feeling so much better.
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Why I Stopped After Month 3
If I was experiencing such great results, why did I discontinue taking it? The truth is, I am not a big believer in taking medications for the rest of my life (unless they’re absolutely necessary, of course). I feel as though my results could be attributed to many changes that I made in my lifestyle, Winona included, and I wanted to see what would happen if I discontinued the treatment but continued with my other non-medicated lifestyle changes.
Once I stopped taking Winona, I was able to maintain my weight. My hormones didn’t go crazy post-treatment, but I did notice that my libido seemed to scale back a bit again.
Ultimately, my goal is to control my body and lifestyle through my nutrition and movement habits that I am so keenly focused on. I also feel as though my symptoms weren’t as extreme as many women who seek treatment through Winona. I am still very young and should have many years ahead where I am not thinking about menopause.
I think it was a combination of Winona’s treatment and the other lifestyle changes that I made during this time that allowed my body to reset, more or less. I have now been off Winona for over 6 months and have maintained my results, which I feel great about.
Should You Try Winona?
Truth be told, another reason why I wanted to test out Winona was so that I could provide some honest, real-life feedback to the women in my Fit & Fueled community who are struggling with menopause and questioning whether or not they should start HRT.
I truly think HRT can be an absolute game-changer for women who are experiencing debilitating menopause symptoms like hot flashes, weight gain, and sleeplessness. There are countless reviews and testimonials from real women who have nothing but the highest praise for Winona’s treatment.
I can’t say for certain that Winona would be a good fit for you, but I can encourage you to explore your options, take their quiz, and connect with their doctors. I really liked that I was able to talk to the Dr. before consenting to them ordering my treatment. I didn’t feel tricked or pushed into buying anything that I wasn’t ready for, which was refreshing in a world where it seems like most people just want to take your money. Winona actually showed that they cared and made sure I was comfortable before ordering.
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It’s clear to me that a large part of my success can be attributed to my other healthy lifestyle factors, which are the exact methods and strategies that I preach and offer inside my signature Fit & Fueled Method inside the FHM+ App. I’m a firm believer that the best remedy for any ailment is always one that includes healthy diet and exercise habits.
