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this is exactly the problem with the activity level buckets, they dont fit someone like you. "moderately active" and "very active" both feel wrong when you have lifting 5x, cardio 4x, steps, plus a dance class stacked on top. if you just pick one bucket you either underfeed yourself or overshoot by a few hundred cals easy. with your schedule you are probably closer to very active, not just moderate, the step count alone pushes you there before you even count the gym sessions. 1200 sounds low for your BMR and activity, that number is usually meant for people who are shorter, older, and sedentary, not someone lifting and hitting 10k steps daily. honestly your best bet is logging your actual TDEE for a couple weeks against real weight change, the buckets are just a rough guess. there is also a free AI tdee calculator if you search "nanorhino tdee", it asks about your actual week instead of just picking a bucket, might give you a more realistic number to start from.

the up down pattern over months while staying flat overall is usually just water and glycogen mess, not a real plateau. sodium, carb intake that day, hormones (if that applies to you), even how much you slept can swing the scale 2-4 lbs day to day. if you are tracking honestly and macros are in range, look at the trend line not the daily number, weekly average is what tells the truth. one thing worth double checking though, is your TDEE number actually right for you. a lot of people just plug in "moderately active" and that number can be off by a few hundred calories which is enough to keep you bouncing in place instead of trending down. there is a free AI tdee calculator you can find if you search "nanorhino tdee", it asks about your actual day instead of just picking a bucket, might be worth rerunning your numbers there to see if they still match what you are eating.

massive respect for 14 kilos, that is not a small thing especially through everything else you were dealing with. the point about not needing a rigid daily target really resonates, i think that is where a lot of people burn out, they treat cico like a strict exam instead of a rough direction. one thing on the tracking side, ChatGPT giving you a range is honestly not a bad approach since most calorie estimates are guesses anyway. if you ever want to double check your TDEE more precisely, there is a free AI tdee calculator you can find by searching nanorhino tdee, it asks about your actual day instead of just picking one of those generic activity levels, gave me a very different number than the usual calculators. not necessary at all if what you are doing is working, just something that might help fine tune the deficit as you get closer to goal weight. keep going, the mindset stuff you wrote about socializing and tuning out gym discourse is underrated advice too.