It's not too many calories but it seems a lot to you right now because you're used to eating less. You've been eating 1512 cals daily for 3 weeks and have seen zero progress. Your BMR is 1477, so you are barely eating over your BMR, which is the bare minimum we should ever eat. Eating less than this doesn't support organ functions. You don't want to take your calories down anymore. When eating at a deficit, especially a larger deficit, when you add back calories quickly, you will gain water weight and possibly fat weight as well because your metabolism may be suppressed a bit. So I mentioned increasing your calories slowly, not all at once. Increasing very slowly - maybe 100 cals per week - helps the body adjust. It's really best to stay off the scale at first so it doesn't discourage you. It's ok that you jumped right up to that calorie level, but don't let 3 lbs of water fluctuation discourage you. Most women in your situation would cut calories even lower, which will backfire and lead you into an unhealthy cycle. Increase slowly and you'll start to see your metabolism speed back up. I have no way of knowing how much you'll gain - probably not too much - before your weight will level out. If you're not comfortable eating the 1700ish number, just increase up to 1600 for awhile and see how you feel. Try reading around the forums and read some testimonies so that you can see how others have been in your place and had great success increasing their calories. You'll be just fine! Hang in there!!