text: how many calories do i eat if i want to loose 20 pounds? i really want to know and does it matter if i eat calories from fat. also do i eat food that has total fat, saturated fat, or transfat even though it might contain a small number of calories. ideally you want to take your body weight times 12 or 13 to get the number of daily calories for weight loss.  so for example if you weigh 150 you would need to eat 1800 calories a day (150 x 12).  you can divide this over 5-6 meals a day so you would have 300 calories for each of your 6 meals.  eating smaller meals every 2 to 2.5 hours will help in keeping you feeling full throughout the day and you should be drinking plenty of water as well.  these meals should consist of protein, healthy carbs, and healthy fats (olive oil, avocado, small amount of nuts), these are monosaturated, and healthy fats, which aid in weight loss.  cut out saturated and trans fat.  cut out all processed and fast food and alot of sugar and white bread, and rice, etc.  this will get you on track to lose 1-2 lbs a week, if you're losing more than that add more calories, if you're losing less than 1lb a week, slowly cut the calories a bit ; like 250-300 per day.  good luck