Thanks for the post and the thoughtful questions.
A few things here:
Metabolic Set Point vs Appropriate TDEE
Based on the present evidence, it appears that those who’ve previously lost weight will tend to have a reduction in total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) commensurate with their weight loss. Compared to their age, weight, and height-matched counterparts who have not lost weight, those who have lost weight will tend to have lower TDEE’s as well.
That said, the typical difference is not overwhelmingly large between those who have lost weight and those who haven’t. For example, your given stats put your BMR around 1800kCal and depending on your activity level, your maintenance TDEE might be from 1800-3500kCal. In short, I don’t think you “ruined” your metabolism or anything like that. Rather, I think if you’re wanting to further reduce body fat then I think you’ll need to further reduce calories or increasing activity (or both).
Cut and Bulk vs Recomp
In general, I think that both are reasonable strategies to try for an individual without a lot of training/diet history that indicates a clear preference for one over the other. That said, I think recomp works best for for individuals who are new to training, those with favorable genetics, and those who have an indeterminate risk of obesity-related disease.*
I think going through periods of calorie reduction and calorie surplus, e.g. bulking (0.5-2kg/month) or cutting (1-2.5%/month), would be preferable for more well-trained individuals and those with average or below average genetics.
Vegetarian
I do not think this alters my management at all, as it is certainly possible to get enough protein, calories, micronutrients, etc. to “optimize” processes related to LBM and strength acquisition on a vegan or vegetarian diet. Despite claims to the contrary, existing data does not seem to indicate that vegan or vegetarian athletes are at a significant disadvantage (or advantage) with respect to strength sports.
-Jordan
*This would be an individual with a BMI 21-34.9 with no current obesity-related medical condition and a waist circumference within 2-3" of the cutoff point that indicates weight loss would be beneficial, e.g. 37" for men.