I’m gonna cut to the chase quickly here and say no, you don’t. For some people, the act of counting calories and tracking your macros can cause a negative relationship with food - which is never our goal! For others, tracking means they know exactly what’s going on and making decisions throughout the dieting process can be more informed by the data they have - it can mean faster results.
I talk a lot about fat loss - because that’s what I get asked about a lot. Given I’ve had my own successful fat loss transformation I have quite a bit to say on the topic. I remember when I first started I didn’t really know what a calorie was, or HOW to lose fat/ what the actual fat loss process in the body was. Now after years of personal experience, coaching clients to success and educating myself around the topic, I know a hell of a lot more.