Sincere congratulations to everyone for being mindful of all facets of health. And it isn't even new year's yet!
I'm fascinated by the issue of weight and metabolism since (1) there are so many variables and individual differences, and (2) so much is still unknown on a basic biological level.
It's easy to demonize sugar, or saturated fat, or carbs, or wheat, or dairy, or meat, or fast food, or processed food, or non-organic food, or pesticides, and on and on, but there isn't one simple answer. So many "rules" are diametric opposites, such as eating five small meals vs intermittent fasting. There's also research into how sleep restriction causes weight gain. An interesting topic, indeed.
In passing, there is a school of thought that glucose regulation may be impaired when meal frequency is reduced:
Morning plasma glucose concentrations were significantly greater in subjects when they were consuming 1 meal a day compared to when they were consuming 3 meals a day. When consuming 1 meal a day, the subjects exhibited poorer glucose tolerance as indicated by a significantly greater and more prolonged elevation of plasma glucose concentrations compared to subjects consuming 3 meals a day.
But hey, glucometers are available over the counter if anyone is interested in tracking specifically how and what they're eating affects their blood sugar.
On the other side of the coin, I am what most people would probably call frail and need to gain weight, which has been quite difficult for me my whole life.