I have to imagine many of the people who argue that sustained caloric deficits do not lead to weight loss are engaging in magical thinking to justify their weight.

Guys, metabolism is just too complicated for humans to understand, so there's nothing at all I can do about being overweight, it's literally beyond my control

There's got to be some kind of cognitive dissonance or something at play; how else could a rational mind convince itself that the laws of thermodynamics do not apply to the human digestive system?

Or the justifications that say, nutrition labels are not PERFECTLY accurate so it's hopeless from the start. I personally guarantee if you drink one can of Coke a day and eat nothing else, you will lose weight; I don't care whether the nutrition label is perfectly accurate.