A very important caveat to the basically-true observation that some degree of energy expenditure compensation happens in a caloric deficit is that getting no physical activity appears to dysregulate appetite and make you far more likely to end up in a caloric surplus. See this review: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29289613/

> Energy intake along the spectrum of physical activity levels (inactive to highly active) appears to be J-shaped, with low levels of physical activity leading to dysregulated appetite and a mismatch between energy intake and expenditure. At higher levels, habitual physical activity influences homeostatic appetite control in a dual-process action by increasing the drive to eat through greater energy expenditure, but also by enhancing post-meal satiety, allowing energy intake to better match energy expenditure in response to hunger and satiety signals.

So, if you want to lose body fat, you probably shouldn't focus on getting hours and hours of cardio in (unless you enjoy it), but you really should be doing some amount of physical activity on most days.