I can’t believe I had to scroll through 130 messages for someone to finally talk about how when you limit your intake your body will adjust and down regulate at a certain point.
Everyone is “maintaining” while under fueling because they have been under fueling for so long that their body has decided some necessary tasks could take a break. Like energy, heat regulation, hormonal balance, making progress in your training (this was the one that hit me and made me finally look into this a while ago).
Adding extra calories properly may turn into gaining an extra kg or two, yes, maybe. But maybe your body NEEDS that to actually run full force. People have to stop road blocking their body.