I think a nutritionist might disagree with you on the empty calories.
By definition are those that are NOT burned up but stored as fat. I always laugh at the guys who call it a "beer belly" when they drink beer and chase them with a bag of chips, dip, salsa, followed by dinner or vise-verso.
35+ years ago when I boxed and wrestled dropping weight was a normal thing so we had to talk to a dietitian. Her take was "You can't make a building without bricks the less amount of bricks the smaller the building."if you take on 1000 calories you need to burn 1000 to stay at the same weight. I am, super active I intake on average 3200 per day and have stayed at the same weight for the last 20 years. My body weight/height from HS vs. what they use today is 18lbs heaver and they wonder why close to half the population is obese