Urgh...I feel like I have been taking steps backwards to get to this point.
I was consuming 4-5 calories per pound and it seems my gain point is about 11-12 calories per pound which stands to reason because of the VLC diet.
I don't want to go too much backwards, I'd rather NOT gain a heap a weight in this process
Everyone has to take steps backwards in this process.
You thought you were doing things correctly by starving yourself at 4-5 calories per pound a bit ago. Then, IMO, you took steps FORWARD to fix the mistake, by upping your cals over time. In the process, you actually lost some weight.
Now, you are getting up toward your maintenance, it appears, which is low relative to the average. Is this bad? Yes and no.
Yes, b/c you don't have much room to wiggle. I wouldn't recommend dropping below 8 cals per pound. If 10 cals per pound doesn't work, you can try 9 and then 8. After that, you can tell you have too much metabolic slowdown. If/when that is determined, back pedaling is your only option. You will have to jump up your caloric intake for a period of time in order to reset things. Help create a more efficient metabolism.
If you had a maintenance of 15-16 cals, look how much room you have to wiggle in terms of creating a deficit!
And I don't really like the term "backwards." I wish I didn't use it.
Look at me. I am currently "bulking." I gained some fat in the process in order to put on some additional muscle. Did I take steps backwards simply b/c I put on some fat? No. This journey is always transitional and in flux. Nature of the beast.
IMO, correcting a metabolism (not that you have to yet, and for your piece of mind, I wouldn't yet) is just a transition. You are changing direction, but assuming they are backwards steps means that the only way to move forward is to watch the scale go down, and that is flawed thinking.
