I am 5'1" and pear shaped. At 187 lbs today I am a size 16 to 18 pant and a size Medium shirt. I wear a size 38D bra on the tightest hook and it's a bit loose. I am probably a 36C. My wrist is exactly 5.5" and my fingers just meet (I have very small hands - I wear a size 5 ring). I have proportionally shorter arms and legs and a longer torso. By all of that, I would say that I should be on the lower side of the weight range for me which is about 110lbs. (The outlier has always been that I wear a size 9 shoe)
But, I build muscle really easily and have always looked like I have a larger build because of it. I'm sure the extra muscle on my legs makes me look larger built as well. If I lean out and keep lifting, I think 125lbs will put in a size 2 or 4 pants and small to extra small shirt. It would be ridiculous to go lower than that on the scale. I may decide I am done when I reach 135. I would be a size 6 or so.
I am always amused that some people consider themselves at goal weight or close to it when they are under 200lbs. I am still morbidly obese at that weight. We all are really so different.
As for the hunger question: I have been averaging about 1000 to 1200 calories a day even on days I exercise. I was worried about it at first, but because of my size I have accepted that I am a small person and need to eat accordingly. Ironically, the less I eat over time, the less I want food. Once I stabilized my blood sugar by cutting out all of the excess carbs and my stomach got "used" to eating less, I feel better with less food. My greek yogurt in the morning really does fill me up. A half chicken breast and some veggies leaves me stuffed at night.
I have recently had a time period where my calories went really low for about a month (600 to 800) due to a personal crisis. I was worried about starvation mode at one point because the weight loss slowed down. When I ate back to 1000 calories/day, it came back to normal losing in whooshes and stalls. I don't know if I believe in starvation mode or not. I take thyroid medicine so maybe that skewed it and kept my metabolism going?
I would say that we are all so different and to do what works for you. Like a previous poster said, if you find eating less leads to binges or snacking and ultimately a higher calorie intake for the day, you might raise your morning calories. Or if you are having other side effects. For example, I know when I am not eating enough because I get insatiably thirsty. Or my stomach starts cramping when I do eat. If you are doing fine with what you're doing - keep it up! Don't change because of a website. You know what works best for you.
