Calorie Deficit

I adjusted it every five pounds lost.

Hello!

A week isn't really long enough to say for sure that your progress is stalled because you're eating at maintenance, but if you don't want to wait the 6+ weeks that it would take to be sure that's the culprit, you can reevaluate your calorie goals every 10-15 lbs or so. That doesn't mean "drop your calories every 10 lbs," that's not what I'm intending for anyone to take away from this comment. What I mean is, look at your intake and loss over time. How many calories per day are you averaging? How long did it take you to lose those 10-15 lbs? Are you losing at a sustainable rate, and has that rate changed in recent weeks? If it's been steady, you probably don't need to change anything; if it's slowed down in the last few weeks, like two months ago you were losing 1lb per week but for the last 3 weeks it's been 1/2 lb or 1/4 lb, drop your calories a little (250-300) and see what happens. Or, if you've been losing really fast (and you aren't starting at 300, 400, 500 lbs), up your calories a little to bring yourself down to a steady and sustainable rate. 1% of body mass per week is about the maximum rate of loss that's safe for most people - that's a limit, mind you, not a goal.

Also, when your non-exercise activity level changes - say you start a new job that's considerably more or less active than your current one, or you get a dog and suddenly find yourself going for walks throughout the day (or perhaps lose a dog, and aren't going for all those walks anymore - heaven forfend, but it does happen). Go through the guided setup again and retool your calories with that new activity level in mind.

If only I could into a calorie deficit...