Intermittent indulging

If you're truly averaging your target number of calories, over weeks and months, then it seems to stand to reason you would maintain your current weight. I'm doing that, albeit unintentionally I cook for a living, and some days I just don't have the type of food I want to eat on hand, so I eat what I have and sometimes it's a high calorie dish. Other days, I do it "right" and stay under my goal. The end result is my weight loss has stalled, but at least it's not a mystery why! My husband did the intermittent fasting to lose weight, and it worked for him, but he couldn't sustain it.

3500 accurately logged calories eaten is either burned or gained depending on your activity level, weight, age, sex, and general metabolic makeup. I do track daily but more keen on checking up on myself about every 7 days for in vs out totals.
You're more likely have an idea where you're at if you're tracking your exercise. I use a fitbit.
I'm 42 and in a good BMI and weight range. I walk miles and miles every day at work and burn an average of 2600 calories a day. If I over-eat, or carb-binge it causes me to bloat or retain water or waste for that matter... but overall the fluctuations don't keep me from enjoying certain foods, it's just not as often as before I lost weight.
In maintenance you really need to be honest with your activity exerted and your food logging to keep tabs and learn where to avoid or go ahead over a week or two at a time. Best of luck to you, have a little of everything and regret nothing

I eat 100-150 calories lower than maintenance 5-6 days a week so I can splurge a little on the weekends eating out or whatnot. At 5'2" and 115 lbs my maintenance calories are pretty low at around 1750 so restaurant meals and heavy desserts would pretty much out otherwise.