[xwowsersx]

Agreed. I did a couple of cuts using templates from Renaissance Periodization, measuring out every single thing that I ate. I think that's a very useful exercise for people who are totally clueless (it amazes me how little of a conception people have). But once you've done that once or twice, you have a feel for what a (healthy) caloric deficit feels like and you just embrace some hunger, as you said, keep protein relatively high, and the other obvious principles. Measuring everything just doesn't seem worthwhile unless you're trying to step on stage and even then you might not need to do so.