The question How many calories should I eat to lose weight? has a very simple answer.

The simple answer to the question How many calories should I eat to lose weight? is Less than the number of calories needed to increase or maintain your current weight. But remember that it is dangerous to lose weight too quickly. So don't take the simplistic approach of not eating at all!

Various answers to the question: 'How many calories should I eat to lose weight?'

There are many net gurus who have attempted to answer this question, I will review some of the better recommendations. First you need to ask yourself why you are bothering to think in such detail about calories! Our first two links recommend ways to lose weight without thinking so deeply about calories. 

You could, for instance, take an approach of slowly replacing high fat foods by low fat foods. Maybe one week you could replace high fat milk by skimmed milk. This will result in you taking in less calories, but you don't need to bother with counting calories in this approach. The best medical advice is not to lose more than 2lbs a week, but if you take the approach of slow substitution you can easily err on the side of caution without calorie counting.

How many calories should I eat to lose weight? - links

How to lose weight - the first article in our series on how to lose weight. This will show you some easy ways to lose weight without turning it into rocket science.

How to lose weight fast - but not too fast. It's dangerous to lose weight too fast, and its easier to just eat a little less each day.

How to Calculate Your Caloric Needs and Lose Weight - advice from Jennifer Scott of Answers.com, a useful page if you really want to find out how many calories you should eat to lose weight. It has been checked by Answer.com's Medical Review Board of physicians from prominent medical institutions.  But, even though I have a physics degree, I find the equations a bit tedious. Being a physicist you learn only to use equations when you need them.  To lose weight you don't need to calculate the exact number of calories you should be eating that day. You just need to eat a one peanut butter sandwich less than yesterday! Still, if you like this sort of obsessive calculation, read Jennifer's article. 

How many calories should I eat to lose weight? - personal account

I aimed at losing up to 2lbs a week by slowly eliminating snacks and making minor modifications to other meals. I eliminated peanut butter sandwiches and gradually moved to low fat options for milk products and main meals. I seldom bothered thinking about calories, except for glancing at yoghurt or ready meal listings to check that they really were low calorie!