Man, it feels like I have been gone FOREVER! So happy to be back! I had planned to come back once class was over and check-in periodically during finals, but that did NOT happen.
This round of finals was infinitely more stressful than fall's, and I fell into old finals habits: all-nighters, pounding energy drinks, 2-4 meals a day, sugar at meals to feel "energized," and no sleep. These are problematic for any weight loss plan, but they are deadly for low carb!
I am back with an ~8-lb gain at 145.0. It's been 2 weeks, so I am actually surprised I didn't gain more. I gained 12 in a week over winter break after low carbing, but I think it's because I stuck to square meals, didn't binge, and have actually been decently active to try to de-stress some for the past 2 weeks. Almost all of my clothes still fit as they did pre-finals, but I can definitely tell I have put on some weight - especially in those areas where I tend to hold water.
In any case, I am back with a vengeance! I am restarting LC today, and I have my heart set on getting to goal by Memorial Day. I know it's way too ambitious to try to lose 16 lbs in 3 weeks, but I really need the motivation and focus. I may not get there, but I will be trying my absolute hardest to make the next 3 weeks super compliant. I am also planning to maintain my active streak, so that may mean I need to have an additional meal, but I will definitely stick to OMAD on my rest days. Today will be a rest and recovery day, so OMAD is the plan.

Thanks so much for the warm reception, everyone!
Things have slowed down this week, so I am relaxing and recovering before they pick back up with research next week. I likely won't be posting in quite as much detail as before because I am honestly not trying to put on too much pressure. After thinking some more, I am also planning to enter maintenance on June 1 regardless of my weight because I loved how I looked before finals, and I am not 100% sure I NEED to hit 129. Unless by some crazy twist of events that causes me to gain weight over the next few weeks, I feel like I will be satisfied just being around/below 135 and can end there. I feel like it is more of a pride thing to be able to say I lost 50 pounds, but I don't know that it's really necessary. Maybe I will do like others and lose more after maintaining for a while, but I am ready to move on to a new phase of my life, especially now that I know I really love my body at 137-138. I am going to stick to LC and OMAD on rest days and start my maintenance countdown.

5/9: 142.2 (-2.8)
Days to Maintenance: 23

Yesterday's OMAD was a bahn mi salad bowl, water with 1 tb each of unsweetened grapefruit juice and ACV, two grapefruit segments, and a small coffee with HWC and SF vanilla syrup around 12:00. My meal wasn't at VLC levels like I was eating pre-finals because of the grapefruit and its juice and the tiny bit of rice vermicelli topping in my bowl (<1/4 cup), but I don't mind. I'm relaxing a bit on that because I am finding that I am much more comfortable including a tiny serving of either starch or grain in my meal because it keeps me regular. I think staying below 30g total is good enough without trying to get down to near-zero again, which always messes with my regularity. My biggest challenge has always been sweets, so as long as I stay away from those or make low carb versions, avoid unnecessary sugar like those in drinks and sauces, and keep my starch/grain portion super small, I am not too concerned. This seems more sustainable and is definitely still LC when compared to SAD.
I also had a few rum and diet cokes last night to celebrate the official end of finals (my last exam was yesterday), and I danced the night away. I'm assuming that's why I got this unexpected whoosh because TOM started this morning, and I usually gain. I'm really happy these pounds aren't trying to stick around.