Do you lose fat in the same way as weight?

sugarfreesquirrel

Can you still eat what you want, or does your diet have to be perfect?

AnnPT77

It depends on what you want to eat.

Body weight is fat, water, other lean tissue (bones, muscles, organs, etc.)

If your calorie goal is suitable, you'll lose some combination of fat and lean tissue.

If your calories are suitable but nutrition is poor, you're likely to lose relatively more lean tissue alongside fat. Protein is the big deal there, but not the only thing that matters. Minimal lean tissue loss is better.

It what you want to eat gets you reasonable overall nutrition, it should be OK. That's true even if there's some treats or so-called junk food and fast food or processed food in the mix.

If what you want to eat doesn't accomplish that, the results aren't likely to be as good.

But your diet doesn't have to be perfect. Pretty good, on average over a few days, will get you reasonable results. Exercise helps.

Note that that answer is about weight loss. I wouldn't give a hugely different answer, but there are nuances if you care about health, energy level, exercise/physical activity performance, or other goals for which nutrition matters.