Add in sufficient protein and strength training, and you can manipulate your body composition at will.
I guess the protein and strength training will make sure you keep your muscle mass while you are losing fat - is this correct?
You want the Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) which is all the energy you use in a day. Tracking your calories and changes to your bodyweight lets you do that. (You'll want to use weekly averages of your bodyweight to smooth out fluctuations that don't reflect changes in tissue.)
Yes strength training with sufficient protein is a signal to your body to maintain or even build muscle mass, so every pound you lose will shift to mostly or entirely fat.
I'd also look into Mike Isratel of Renaissance Periodization and their Youtube playlists, Eric Helms, Eric Trexler, Greg Nuckols of Stronger by Science, the Barbell Medicine team and their podcast, etc. For a book, you probably want Burn by Herman Pontzer.
You can get more complicated than what I've described, but you now know all the core actionable information. Learning too much can confuse lots of people, but if you stick to the simpler model for actionable information while you learn the nuances, eventually you'll start seeing the simplicity in the bigger picture.