I'm feeling a lot less hungry now I've upped my fat again... . I can't believe how easily (still, after all this time!) I drift to LCLF if I take my eye off the ball. I still don't really understand why that also stalls weight loss, given my calories must drop during that time, but it does (I keep thinking I understand it, then realise I don't really, but I feel rubbish so I will just eat more fat and I know I will feel better)
Cherries you are still buying into the calories in - calories out myth. You already tried reducing your calorie intake and it didn't produce sustained and lasting weight loss. That's because it doesn't work! Yes there are some genetically-blessed and metabolically healthy people who can lose weight by eating less and moving more but they are in the minority. If it was that easy then we would all be slim! And there are also miserable people with wills of iron that can commit to chronically underfuelling their bodies for the rest of their lives in order to stay thin but that would really suck and they are few and far between.
LCHF is not a calorie-restricted diet when done properly. If your body needs 2,000 calories a day then you give it 2,000 calories a day. Yes that might be 1,500 calories from food and 500 calories from your own fat stores but it's still 2,000 calories. Your body is being properly fuelled, nourished well if you're eating a FLGV so it can perform properly without inflammation, with a good hormonal balance, without breaking down lean body mass, it can continue to replace 'old' tissue and replenish your bones.
Once your body is working properly on LCHF, i.e. you've passed the adaption phase, then you cannot trick it by trying to cut calories again. You need to have enough calories coming in to the system. You have to restrict carb and protein calories to around 5% and 25% therefore your fat intake has to be high to make up the rest of your calories. Your body will not give up 1,000 calories of fat stores a fat, that would be suicidal for humans living in a primitive environment. So unnecessarily restricting your calories leads to the famine reaction. You might lose weight initially but you will rapidly become lethargic, hungry, stress hormone levels will rise, your blood glucose goes up, and weight loss stalls.
When you eat LCHF your body is primed to use fat for energy. Once you use up the dietary fat coming in then your body goes looking for more fat to burn and uses up what's coming out of your fat cells. When you're eating high carb then the fat is locked away in the fat cells and easily can't get out to be used up (because insulin levels are too high).
In short, you need to keep eating the delicious fat to lose weight!