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If you calculate your caloric needs once and never again, I would agree. If, however, you recalculate your caloric needs based on your CURRENT metabolic rate, then I stick by what I said. As your metabolism slows down, your caloric needs drop, and so to be in a deficit your caloric intake must also continuously drop.
Your body will eventually adapt (it is very good at that) unless you force it to keep the metabolism up by doing exercise.
This is why ANY diet that depends ONLY on a calorie deficit is doomed to failure - you continue to cut calories until you eventually either give up, or starve to death.
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I agree with you, but I also think that an important point here is the weight/strength training aspect. I did weights, and worked hard at it, for years. But eating at a deficit AND doing tons of aerobics really kept me from getting anywhere. Weight-training did help, it did change my body, I did get stronger - but I still think undereating and aerobics were keeping me overly fat and preventing growth or maintenance of muscle...
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The phenomenon of slowed metabolism in women is caused from chronically undereating, usually in cycles, for many years. It doesn't just happen from eating too little on a diet. It takes a long time and a lot of bad exercise and eating habits to get to that point.
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If you go to the National weight-loss registry and read, it's scary... From what I remember, the average weight-maintenance for women is around 1200 cals... and that is HARD to live on (I know, I've tried!!!). Luckily, a metabolism can be revived even after years by eating right and doing enough of the right kinds of exercise (as in NROL4W, in my case). Not that I'm "there" yet, but I know I'm going in the right direction!