...that this site slows way down (as far as posts go) about this time of year till about January 2nd? This year seems especially slow. I hope to continue to post once a day at least somewhere

Pretend today is January 2nd - don't bow out for the candy and goodie season. Get out there into the fresh air, that's a good reason not to post

Good Luck, Hang Loose, Enjoy Life

Too funny. It is the season of long pants, multiple layers and jackets, all capable mitigating the effects of some extra pounds. And yes, the holidays are a great excuse to relax diet discipline.

With the above said, I fully admit I will probably stray, sometimes quite considerably, in the upcoming season, but I plan to keep getting on the scale and confessing my 'sins' here. I could live with a few pounds slide in the holiday season, but I need accountability to keep from digging too deep a hole.

That being said, today it is 80 and sunny in WV, and I think I will do my run shirtless in the neighborhood because hard work pays off:-)

Right there with you, Thud. Indian summer here in VA today, and beautiful weather, and I, too, have noticed the recent slowness here. This is one of today's contributions for me.

I'll have to take your word for that thud, because I've only really been around here for a few months (posting about 3, reading about 5). But I guess it makes sense if one is the kind of person who thinks that a holiday has to revolve around food. It doesn't though. Halloween for me is about the Celtic/pagan celebration: Samhain. It's about reading spooky stories and watching horror films and revelling in the shorter days/longer nights that bring about so much glorious darkness!

Christmas for me is nothing to do with food or gifts. It's not even a religious focus for me - although I do respect the tradition and enjoy things like carol services and nativities. For me it's the winter solstice; the Celtic/Pagan festival Yule. It's about getting together with my family and appreciating the time I spend with them. It's the end-of-the-year moment of reflection, before the days start to get longer again, in preparation for the coming season of rebirth.

Anyone can find any reason for eating crap if they want one. Right now I'd rather find more reasons for staying committed to my low-carb WOE, because I don't want this to be a 'diet'. I want lifelong health and a healthy long life. Screw January 1st. I made my 'resolution' on August 31st. I've stuck to it so far and I'm going to continue to stick to it.

Blue

What! I missed New Year's Eve??????

I'm a musician in Florida, that's a BIG MONEY night. Anybody have a time machine?


Bob

Yes...but this this year may be different. Limited family gatherings, nix the offices Christmas party, even Thanksgiving plans are fluid and that is only a month away.
Might as well hang out here for Companionship and commiseration.
For all the SouthEasteners...it looks like a full week of a beautiful fall weather ahead. 81 today

Interesting takes on the subject. We'll see this year. There's also a certain amount general attrition here as there are many other sources to glean LC knowledge with prettier, albeit less useful, interfaces.

There's a reason folks come here. I'd wager it is a 95 percent referral from the Alphabet company named Google as this place has been around a long time in terms of internet years and accumulated boatloads of useful LC search strings in it's public forms.

And I'd also wager that that 95 percent referral results in about 95 percent of those folks leaving after 6 months. Not sure of the pull away from here, carbs, more active communities or they figure it out and don't have to natter on about it like myself

Happy Holidays!

I hear ya Bob, as a kid in college I used to love playing that night in "Dr. Hitt and Grandma's Big Band" with a cheese tux. Double pay! It was funny as I kept my musical career going for some time after and whenever asked what I was doing for New Years Eve the response was reflexive, "Working!" I would say.

Peace brother Bob

lol I'm actually coming BACK after going quiet for months!

(Not because I've been off-plan, or anything... just, life is kinda chugging along, and I'm maintaining, at a normal BMI, within a few pounds.)

Been an incredibly stressful year, with divorce, custody battles, and taking on a physically demanding warehouse job after years of not being terribly active.

Had some appetite struggles in there when I started the new job... and had my 12-year-old look at me and say, "Sounds like you need to make fat-bombs." (Dang, the kid pays attention! She was right, too. Went from feeling like there wasn't enough food in the world, to eating like a "normal person". Only needed the one batch, too, to kick my body into shape.)

Am really happy with where I'm at, and was literally just thinking about holiday cooking. "Hm... maybe do a turkey this year after all, so I have the leftovers ready to use." (Last year, I think we went out for dinner, though I'd planned cornish game hens.) Even have two pumpkins on my counter for pies. (No crust, no sugar... pumpkin by itself is more sugar than I'd normally eat, but that's my "holiday splurge".... a vegetable, in a high-protein high-fat dish. Could be a lot worse.)

I have noticed usage on this site going down for years. I read all kinds of health related stuff all over the internet and always return here because of so many greats threads and links. The things that have worked for me continue to evolve, and I learned those things here.

I don't worry about the holidays as much as I used to, but I do enjoy a slice of blueberry pie at Thanksgiving. The binge season for me is anytime! COVID has really helped me focus on my health. Lower weight, lower blood sugar, lower blood pressure, those are my goals to protect myself from COVID. I wish the media would give more credence to this aspect of COVID. Sure wash your hands and wear a mask, but the best way to protect yourself is to be healthy!

That's why I keep coming back here too. It also covers a wider range of approaches, not a one size fits all, and there are always links to new studies that I wouldn't have seen elsewhere.

People don't realize what a lifesaver this forum can be. Wizdom arrives with added years, Grasshopper.

Yup, yup, yup. And yup.

I don't know whether my perception of decreased posting on this site is due to the fact that for the last several years, I don't very often read anything other than the research/media and war zone sections, or if it only seems that way because it's not as active some other LC forums I've been on (at least some of which are now defunct, due to the owner deciding to shut it down).



I still check in at ALC very regularly though, because this is the one place I've found that brings together scientific dietary research, what the media is saying about LC, and what various LC doctors and bloggers are saying. Most LC forums seem to be based just on each individual's plan/success/problems, with little to no mention at all about scientific research done on nutrition - and on other forums, even if there is occasionally mention of articles on nutrition, it's taken at face value.



Here on ALC though - wow, we have people on the research/media section who delve into the actual data behind the highly publicized mainstream media articles. I love the way our resident scientific minds have of finding the original studies, digging through the scientific jargon about the way each study was set up, analyzing what the data actually shows, and if the study itself was flawed, or the data manipulated to show desired results that were published.



Basically, whether there's as many people here as other forums, and whether or not it's as active as others, this place is a gem.

Thanks to the supply and demand we get 5 times our regular rate. But then we don't work Christmas week and the week after New Year's Eve nobody is having a one-nighter for us to work, so it evens out.

I've played N.Y.E. since I was a Junior in High School. I remember asking the bandmaster if I should take the gig or march with the band in the Orange Bowl parade. He told me take the gig. Same for senior year - he said one less sax in the parade won't be as important as gig experience and money in my pocket.

I've gigged every N.Y.E. since except for the year our agent double-booked and we lost the coin toss. I went to a friend's gig, and at the stroke of midnight "Auld Lang Syne" started, I didn't have my saxophone in my hands, and I felt like a fish out of water.

So this will be our second year since 1962 that I haven't played N.Y.E. Actually I haven't had a gig since March 17 thanks to COVID.

But I'm not complaining, the house and cars are paid off, I have no debt, and I can wait this plague out. We're luckier than a lot of other people.

Bob