[header] How to calculate how many calories you need to eat to lose weight [title] Calculate your basal metabolic rate (bmr). [step] Your bmr will tell you how many calories your body needs to function properly if you spent the entire day doing absolutely nothing. This is also known as your metabolic rate or metabolism. 
[substeps] Your body burns calories just to fulfill life-sustaining processes like breathing, digesting food, repairing and growing tissue and circulating blood. You will use the results from the bmr equation to find out how many calories you need to either lose weight or maintain your weight.