Depending on your size, 1200-1300 may be fine. I’m a short, sedentary, middle aged woman so my TDEE is pretty low and 1200-1300 is what I eat daily to lose weight. When you’re not eating much I think it’s even more important to choose your food wisely though, because you have less opportunity to get in all the micronutrients and macronutrients your body needs. You’d still lose weight eating 1200 of low quality junk food but you’ll feel like crap. Focus on eating lots of veggies and protein and some healthy fats.
As far as calorie counting goes, it’s a surefire way to know you’re in a deficit and by how much, but it’s not totally necessary if you have a good handle on knowing what a portion size looks like and the proper portions you should be eating to lose weight. You probably do have a good handle on that since you’ve already lost weight this way before, so go ahead and give it a try without the calorie counting and see how it goes.
When I was really trying to really drop weight I do 3, 800 calorie fasted days. I’m a woman and 5’5. Was aiming to get to 120lbs. It worked. I’m sure some may say it’s not enough but I felt fine and was still super active
I am for 1200-1500 on a regular day