If you eat 1500, do you still lose weight at a safe rate of 1 to 2 lbs per week? If so, then it's probably a good thing and you should aim for 1500. If you need less, then you could try something like Volumetrics so you can eat larger volumes of food that contain fewer calorie. The principles of Volumetrics can be applied to almost any diet to help fill you up
I don't think you ever addressed whether you are drinking enough water etc during the day, this could be making you feel hungry too. May we ask how much you weigh? if you are starting out at a high weight then 1500 may be perfect for weightloss for you, are you losing weight at all?
I agree with Suzanne. If you still lose weight on 1500 calories a day at a decent pace of a pound or two a week, then there is no reason to lower it.
However, if you have stopped losing, and have not lost eating 1500 calories a day for more than a couple of weeks, then the key is to lower if gradually. Eat 1450 calories a day for a week or two, and then 1400 for a few weeks.
You may actually find that you don't need to be at 1200-1300. However, when you do drop calories, it is best to do so gradually-in smaller increments. Dropping from 1500 to 1200 is actually a pretty drastic drop!
Also, I read a post on 3fc that said taking Benefiber really helped her eat less. I have started doing this and it has helped me a bit too. I just thought I'd share this info, but I think all the advice above is excellent.