You can't lose what you can't measure. Maintenance is the line — deficit is everything below it.
Ask ten experts and you will get twelve answers. The underlying math, thankfully, only has one. You can't lose what you can't measure. Maintenance is the line — deficit is everything below it.
TDEE calculation: BMR × activity multiplier. Eat at maintenance for 2 weeks and check the scale.
300–500 kcal/day under maintenance = 0.3–0.5 kg/week loss. Faster than that and muscle goes too.
Maintenance drops as you lose weight. Recalculate every 5 kg lost.
Should I eat back exercise calories? Half of them. Wearables overstate burn by ~20–30%.
Is keto required? No — any diet that creates a deficit works. Adherence beats macro choice.
Bookmark the calculator linked above — you will need it more often than you think.