Just started - not eating all my calories, is this a problem

Yes that is way too low, even if you don't feel hungry. You won't get all of your nutrients (or enough calories to function properly), and your body will go into starvation mode which will slow down weight loss. You should never eat less than 1200. I mean occasionally I might eat 1100 or so, but it is very rare. The next day I will eat more than 1300. Really one should not go below 1200.

Very, very, very few people should ever eat less than 1200 a day. You are likely not one of the few.

I was still hungry doing 1200 calories a day... and lucky to lose a pound a week at first... then I upped my calories to 1300/day and lost 1.4 pounds that week. Raised it to 1350 the next week and lost 1.8 pounds! Last week I had trouble hitting my 1350 (+ exercise calories) and I came in under target every day... I did not lose even an ounce :-(

Since Monday I have made sure to come as close as possible to target (1350 + exercise calories = approx. 1700-1800 per day) and I have lost .4 pounds so far this week.

I am 32, 5'2 and as of today 174.8 pounds (I was 206 at my heaviest)... and I am slowly coming around to the idea that I have to eat more in order to lose!!

i think its different for everyone. i have mine set at 1200 and with exercise i normally come up under my goal. i used to eat back all my exercise calories and if i'm hungry i will eat all of them but if i'm not hungry i'm not going to eat just becasue my phone or computer tells me to. be prepaired to be raked over the coals about not eating the 1200 calories and people telling you that your body is going to go into starvation mode blah blah blah. i say do whatever you are comfortable with and tweek it until it works for you. everyone is different and in the beginning you will loose pretty quickly because its something new to your body and your body has to figure out what to do with it. you will plateau and have to change things up again and you will start loosing again. its kind of a hurry up and wait process. do before pix (front back and side), measurements and weight. you may not loose on the scale but you may be toning and replacing fat with muscle. take everyone's advise and use what you think will work for you. everyone here will have an opinion on the best way to loose weight and if it works for them great! but remember you are different from them and what works for them might not work for you. i'm doing intermitten fasting right now which just means i start eating at lunch and finish my eating around 8-9ish depending on how long i'm at the gym. some people think that is crazy but its the way i naturally eat. if i eat breakfast i'm hungry all day long and find it hard to stay under my calories or even close to it. plus sometimes breakfast and my stomach fight and my stomach quickly gets rid of breakfast if you know what i mean i've never been a big breakfast person and i think its stupid to force myself to eat it when i simply don't want it. i eat when i'm hungry and don't shovel food down my throat just becasue its time to eat or i've not met a certian goal for the day. good luck with your weight loss and feel free to add me if you want :flowerforyou:

oh and starvation mode is real..but it takes work to be in true starvation made, and you notice the term thrown around a lot.

All you have to do is add an avocado (approximately 260 calories) to your salad and you'll be closer to the 1200 calorie mark. Also, add nuts as a good healthy fat. Most important is that you get the right nutrients to fuel your body. Vitamins don't provide everything that the body needs - you need to get it through your food.