Should I stay on my calorie deficit or go back to maintenance calories?

21, 5'11 male, 154lbs, around 20% body fat.

My maintenance calories are 2500 and for the last 2 months I've been eating 1800 daily, with plenty of protein. I went from 164lbs to 154lbs in hopes of losing stomach fat and eventually getting leaner/around 13-15% body fat. I have also been lifting 3-4 times a week during this time.

I'm not very strong or built and I am starting to question whether I should keep going with my calorie deficit because I feel like I could end up too low body weight and look like a twig before I start seeing abs/lose my extra stomach fat.

In your opinion, should I go back to maintenance calories and keep lifting, as this will enable me to eat much more protein and in tern gain more muscle. Or should I stay on track with my 1800 cal/day diet and continue lifting?

My end goal is eventually having abs and being toned.

submitted by /u/Zorqo
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source https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/comments/urye4y/should_i_stay_on_my_calorie_deficit_or_go_back_to/