I've been tracking my macros for years, but recently I started wondering if calorie counting is even worth the mental load. A friend of mine lost 20 pounds just by eating whole foods without tracking a single meal. Another swears by intermittent fasting and never counts. So what actually matters more—the quality of the food or the total energy intake? I've seen studies on both sides, but they rarely reflect real life where people eat out, stress-eat, or just forget. Curious if anyone has found a sustainable approach that doesn't turn every meal into a math problem.