I"m 5'8.5, female, 32 and about 128lbs and I eat about 1500/day. I exercise a lot though as well and have a pretty low bf%.
I maintained about 10 lbs less than this without trying for years when I wasn't exercising but now I actually get hungry, lol. As much as it's harder now to not overeat than it was before it's probably better for health to have working hormones.... all that to say - even if you can maintain lower calories it doesn't mean that you should.