Hi Jackie and welcome,
Boy, you'll probably get lots of different answers, but IMO it isn't a good idea to frequently go too low on your calories. For one thing, you are probably not giving your body sufficient nutrients (Protein, fiber, fat) if you are eating too few calories.
Another thing to consider is what you will do when you plateau? As we get closer to goal, our bodies need fewer calories to survive. So to lose, you will need to eat fewer calories when you're closer to goal. If you start out eating few calories, you don't have much room to drop your calories when you need to closer to your goal.
My most important consideration is that I like to eat, and if I can lose weight on 1600 - 1700 calories per day, why would I limit it to a lower number?
At 200 lbs, I can still lose about a lb per week eating those levels.
Almost forgot to add - what about a couple of 150 - 200 calorie snacks during the day? That certainly helps me not be so very hungry by dinner time (the meal I used to overeat so much).