Somehow missed this thread.
I have for years been saying much of this. Many of the hardcorez bodybuilders are too stuck in old bro-lore.
Cals in cals out. Period. I love the 'we are all different' stuff. The fact is that VERY few people have ever truly tracked their cals and macros.
I spent 4+ years literally preparing, weighing and trying all kinds of different intakes. What I realized is that cals are king. And fat loss is NOT about cutting sugar or 'bad' foods. It is about eating less.
When I cleaned up my desk a bunch of years back, I collected all the stickies where I had planned out different macro can cal combinations. This is probably over 3 years of intakes.
FWIW, I dont track cals anymore and just do it by feel. I used to systematically ALWAYS be gaining or losing weight. Since I trained almost my entire life naturally you have have maximize the power of food to grow. I was ALWAYS gaining weight. 25-35lbs over 4-5 months and then dropping weight over 10-12 weeks. Then repeat.
I stopped doing this because I am about as big as I can hope to be and still hold it at 'normal' hormone levels (even though I gave up my nattie card). Eating up no longer benefits me as it once did and I can no longer gain mass, and keep it when I diet down to the 10% range. I could probably fix this, but my aas usage is something I dont feel the need to push as I approach 50. My goals were to never use so much that what I gained, I could not hold on to at 'normal' hormone levels. Those are just my goals and anyone can do what they want.
Anyway.....yes...cals in, cals out, and most people are who have never truly tracked and manipulated intake just dont get it. They think fat loss and gain is some black magic. And they are different, and they tout experiences of how when they eat this particular food they got fat...etc. It just is not accurate.
Cant tell you how many times over the years I have helped people out with their diets that swore they were 'different'. Amazing how their bodies are totally predictable as are results when they standardize intake. It really is that simple.