LST'ing/Topping/Other questions about my plants! Help!

Hey, this is my first grow and I had read about LST (low stress training) and have begun to work with it on my plants. Because it is my first grow I believe i will LST a few plants and top another few to get a feel for both methods and decide which one I like best. Please give me any feedback on what you think i should do and let me know if what i'm doing looks right or what else i should do with it! Thanks! I can only hope for females! So much longer to wait before finding out! When exactly does flowering start in the northeast. Massachusettes lattitude? Any help would be greaaaat! Thanks

Does stress on the plant really create hermies? Should i worry about that when LST'ing?

One more question, the stem on one of my plants in the pictures has a redish purple tone to its newer growth at the top of the stems. The stems supporting the fan leaves have been light red in color but now the new main stem growth seems to be a dark purple although its only really present in the main stem (the dark purple). You can see it in the picture... if you ahve any ideas on whether or not its bad or what i should do....

Also on the same plant, is it me or did its green color get lighter from previous posts? Is that a bad sign? It still seems to be growing fine...?

In the 4th picture, the loop you have around the main stem looks a little tight to be honest. Try looseing it up a tad or you might risk cutting into it as the plant gets bigger and the stem gets thicker. Other than that everything looks great. Good Job!

I tried LST for my first grow.

It was really easy and artistic. I had fun tying down the secondaries just the way I wanted them.