"A calorie is a calorie" guy here. I'm also a "food affects metabolic rate" guy, they're not in opposition (that said, . The problem is that people are latching to the idea that such-and-such diet allows you to eat however much you want, and you'll lose weight[1]. To which the answer is, that's not how things work, you still need to have a negative caloric balance to lose weight: "a calorie is a calorie".

Most of the effect of these diets (intermittent fasting, low/no-carb, etc) is due to spontaneous reduction of intake; I haven't seen credible reports of large effects due to metabolic rate change. Granted, I've stopped looking some years ago.

Worrying about "some calories increase metabolism" is majoring in the minors. "Some calories make me less hungry (therefore I eat less)", "some calories make me feel more energetic (therefore I move more)", "some calories come with more micronutrients", "some calories don't come along with poisonous crap" is what most of us should be worrying about.

[1] I know this sounds like a strawman, but this is the actual claim being made.