Even with this basic advice it can be difficult to determine how many calories you need to lose weight the healthy way. The truth is, to lose weight and stay healthy you need to do it slowly and you need to ensure you are eating enough calories to prevent the loss of muscle tissue. Muscle tissue is the key to a speedy metabolism. The more muscle tissue you have, the faster your metabolism.
Muscle tissue does come with a price.
Think of muscle as being a very hungry tissue. It requires a lot of calories to maintain. You should aim to lose no more than 2 pounds a week. If you lose any more than that, it's usually water loss and muscle tissue. To be smart at the weight loss game, go slow.