Can't answer any of your questions directly.

Can say that reading the book Mastering Leptin, and implementing as many of its suggestions as I can, has helped me tremendously. The book talks about adrenaline and cortisol imbalances as a result of eating improperly, and they didn't appear to be relevant to my problems so I didn't pay much attention.

www.masteringleptin.com

Caveat: Authors are NOT proponents of a LC WOL but otherwise their information does not conflict with very much at all over here.

Leptin diet

three meals a day
no snacks
3 hours between last food and bed
regular vigorous exercise
something else I can't remember now.