: What to do having underestimated an increment? I did my second deadlift routine today but didn't increase the recommended 15 pounds from the first time as I'm purposely limiting growth by only having a caloric surplus on

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Here's one area of concern:

I didn't increase the recommended 15 pounds from the first time as I'm purposely limiting growth by only having a caloric surplus on my workout days.

I'm not sure this is necessary. Limiting muscle growth in order to lose fat mass is, I believe, not the best course of action. If your goal is body recomposition (fat loss), the best option while doing SS is to control your diet and lift heavy, not to lift sort-of-heavy. If your goal is simply to stay in your current weight class, then your best option is to lift heavy and control your diet. Most of the strength gains you experience will be neurological--that is, they won't require an increase in size, especially not without eating big.

I think I would add the full amount of weight, at least until you're deadlifting close to your own bodyweight.

And here's another:

...I popped on another 2.5kg (5 pounds) and did another set. It seemed about right as I doubt I could have finished 5 reps if it was any higher.

If your plan is to add 10 pounds instead of 15, do that. If it's to add 15 every workout until you can't, do that. Lifting by "feel" is fairly complex, and should generally be avoided by novices.

Next time, if you get the weight wrong, just leave it for next time. It's better to "leave a few reps in the tank", so to speak, than to max out every workout. It's definitely not a big deal, but I also think that adding extra sets when you're already exhausted from the workout isn't the best approach. Slow and steady wins this race: add the weight every time, lift it every time, repeat until it doesn't work.

So don't judge the efficacy of the workout by how sore you feel, or how tired. Instead, ask yourself: "Did I accomplish my program goals today? Am I on course? Am I stronger than I was last workout?" If so, congratulations, you achieved awesome that day.

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Just take it easy, if it's easy the first week or two, it doesn't mean it's going to remain easy forever. The biggest mistake to make with SS is to hurry too much. Remember, you are still increasing linearly and this is amazing progress! Pushing yourself too hard at the start can set you back later on for weeks.

Next time, just increase by the set weight. I guarantee that by week three or so it will stop feeling easy.

Here's the relevant quote from Rippetoe:

Don’t be in a big hurry to find your sticking point early in your training progression. It is always preferable to take smaller jumps and sustain the progress than to take bigger jumps and get stuck early. Getting stuck means missing any of the reps of the prescribed work sets, since the weight cannot be increased until all of the reps have been done as prescribed. It is easier to not get stuck than it is to get unstuck.