34 logged days and no results

Actually you are losing . Half a pound a week is a sane and most importantly, sustainable rate of loss with your stats.

I lose at about the same rate. I would love to lose faster but my body doesn't work that way. I'm 46 and 5'4". I've lost 22 pounds in 10 months. I've also lost 22 inches, which makes a big difference. Take measurements. They can make you feel better when the scale isn't moving that quickly.

As @ridge4mfp said you likely put 2lbs/ week loss on your goals. However that requires a 1000 deficit... since you've been losing 0.5 lbs a week suggests that your deficit is only 250 kcal (Meaning your TDEE is about 1450). MFP won't ever put you under 1200 kcal since that is unhealthy. However you can up your activity to increase your TDEE (I suggest get a pedometer and do 10 k steps every day at least - that should increase your TDEE about 300 kcal and speed up weight loss). However be mindful to reach your macros and take care of your health first. Other thing is...if you are not using kitchen scale you are probably eating more than you think. So tighten up you logging, get more active, and be patient. Loosing slowly is better because you learn portion control and get into control over your body. If you eat in deficit you will lose weight, there is no possibility of eating too little so you don't lose weight. That's a myth...and a bad one.
Good luck!

grammacarrie, if you want to have different results you have to do things different. Maybe you can take a walk around your neighborhood once a day, add more low impact exercise. Try to cook fat free, no oil. You have to count your calories weighting your meals, you have to even count the sugar of your coffee (try to use stevia). And so on, i'm sure that if you add a little more effort you will loose weight faster. But patience is the most important thing. It didn't take a week for us to gain weight, so, we cannot expect to lose it from one day to another. Keep up with it and keep us posted.

If you are trying to lose 20 pounds then .5 pound loss per week is what you should be aiming for, not 2 pounds. Your height is a lot of the reason you are at 1200 calories. Just be patient. If you don't already use a food scale you really should get one. With only 20 pounds to lose there isn't much room for error in your logging. I don't think that at your age and height 1200 is too low (as someone already pointed out starvation mode is a myth). I am 48 and 5'4.75" and I set my goal at 1300 and eat back most of my exercise calories. You don't have to stop using oil in your cooking or putting sugar in your coffee, you just need to log it and make sure you can fit it in your calorie goal.

The calories deducted for exercise by MFP are way too generous. I started using my hunger/fullness level as a guide. I count the number of calories by logging the foods eaten and I gauge if I am really hungry. It does take time and as a previous entry stated 1/2 lb a week is a much better rate to lose weight. This way your body becomes used to not eating as much and with exercise has the opportunity to tighten up lost fat and build muscle. Too rapid a weight loss does not instill the habit of healthy eating and it's too painful, I hate to be hungry. It took me a year to lose 32 lbs and I am glad I did it that way. Yes, 1200 calories a day is just not enough.