These kind of posts attract lots of debate, maybe less so on HN, but to strengthen OP's statement: every technique beyond total calories intake is an optimizati

These kind of posts attract lots of debate, maybe less so on HN, but to strengthen OP's statement: every technique beyond total calories intake is an optimization. Sometimes, if your body and lifestyle is in a situation that has many opportunities for non-calorie weight loss optimization, it may seem like total calories is not the most important factor. This is a confusing illusion because those optimization opportunities will change over time, and as you address them. Total calorie intake is the underlying reality of weight loss that will not change. That said, there are a lot of useful optimizations and hacks out there. OP says exercise is almost irrelevant, but I can say that training up the ability for endurance exercise is really effective for me personally. During quarantine I've gone from sedentary to completing 10 mile runs, which have noticeably helped me lose fat. In the past I've also had successful experiments with restrictive diets like paleo, keto, and intermittent fasting. YMMV; experiment with optimizations, but never forget about total calories.