A Newbie Food/Calorie Intake Question

It's right. If you do this thing right you eat all the time. Remember it's a slow process but it's one that works. Just stick with it and you'll see a big change

It is ok to flex your calories, so that your body does not get accustom to that set amount. Just be sure not to eat junk if you are trying to utilize your calories. Most importantly you don't want to be hungry! Eating some throughout the day is best, that way your body is not starving and using up all the good stores.

Be sure to also be drinking plenty of water and stay away from the caffeine.

You should shoot to be close to your calories goal each day. There is a calorie deficit already built into what MFP says you can have so if you go too far under you risk causing your body to go into starvation mode and slowing down your metabolism. You should also eat to replace most of the calories you burn through exercise for the same reason. You may think "Then why exercise?" The reasons are that you get other health benefits from exercise and exercise also helps boost your metabolism long term.

This is a huge topic of debate on MFP, but I believe that if you're not hungry, then don't eat. Unless you're under 1200 calories.

Why 1,200 calories? That's such an arbitrary number that assumes everyone's BASE caloric needs are the same.

1,200 calories to someone with low LBM vs. 1,200 calories to someone with high LBM, for example. Is 1,200 my absolute minimum when I have 60+ more pounds of muscle mass than your average female?

You should shoot to be close to your calories goal each day. There is a calorie deficit already built into what MFP says you can have so if you go too far under you risk causing your body to go into starvation mode and slowing down your metabolism. You should also eat to replace most of the calories you burn through exercise for the same reason. You may think "Then why exercise?" The reasons are that you get other health benefits from exercise and exercise also helps boost your metabolism long term.

So if I'm understanding correctly, when I burn calories exercising, I should try to eat most or all of them, too? Seems like a lot but it makes sense, because it seems like when I exercise I'm starving the rest of the day.

Yes you eat your exercise calories back!

You should shoot to be close to your calories goal each day. There is a calorie deficit already built into what MFP says you can have so if you go too far under you risk causing your body to go into starvation mode and slowing down your metabolism. You should also eat to replace most of the calories you burn through exercise for the same reason. You may think "Then why exercise?" The reasons are that you get other health benefits from exercise and exercise also helps boost your metabolism long term.

Starvation mode, in terms of temporary fluctuations in dieting, is a myth. Starvation mode in terms of heightened catabolism takes ~2-3 days while FASTING to occur. Starvation mode in terms of decreased metabolism takes weeks, maybe months, of extremely and radically low calorie dieting.