Am I doing enough??

Hello, I'm new here, nice to meet you all. I've been using this site for about 3 weeks now and before I go any further with this I want to make sure that I'm doing things the right way.

I'm 5'6", between 185 and 195 pounds (my scale is out to lunch) and I'm trying to lose a total of 50 pounds of fat. For now my goal is to be 160 pounds by mid October. My first question is, is this an unrealistic goal?

I am eating between 1200 and 1300 calories a day. I started by cutting out fried foods, fast foods and pop and juice so I only drink water now. I try to incorporate every food group into my diet every day. I eat more vegetables and carbs than I do anything else but none the less I get a serving of fruit, dairy and protein into my day as well.

I work out for about half an hour a day three times a week. I start with step ups for 5 minutes to get my heart rate up then I go into some light weight lifting. I use 5 pound weights and do three sets of 12. Once im done that I do some crunches and lunges and finish with 5 minutes of stretching. I am hoping to lengthening my routine as it gets easier to do. 10 minutes of step ups instead of 5 an extra 30 crunches ect.

With all of this said I would just like to ask, am I on the right track? Do you think this is going to help me reach my goals? Any pointers or advice would be great. Thanks a bunch :)

Well assuming you are female, I am female 5"6 and 200.8 lbs, and the days that I workout I eat a minimum of 1650 and a max of 1800 calories. The recommended intake of 1200 is for a sedentary female with no activity level. You may want to try increasing your intake to about 1500-1600 calories per day. Your exercise routine seems ok, as well as your diet.

Your plan sounds great but a piece of advice might help you avoid some tough times.  Vary your exercise routine.  It's your body's natural tendency to conserve energy as much as possible for that impending starvation your body is genetically programmed to think is starting tomorrow.  If you do the same stuff over and over, your body adjusts and finds ways to do it expending less energy, resulting in fewer calories burned.   Every 2-4 weeks, I'd be adjusting your routine to either do different exercises, or different versions of the same exercise, to involve all the muscle groups with different motions.  If you use machines for example for weight training, switch to free weights, then to pulleys and back and forth.  

Also, lift heavier weights.  Don't worry you won't gain muscle like a man without the use of performance enhancers but the heavier weights will increase your metabolism and burn more calories.  If you can lift a weight more than 12 times without struggling on the last one, you need more weight.  Your body will adjust to the light weights easily and burn very little energy.  5 pounders are ok if you are just starting out and getting used to it, but get those weights up after  a couple of weeks and within the first month, you should find your 8-10 rep maximum weights.  You'll feel better believe me...

Welcome!

My stats are pretty similar - I'm female, 5'6" and presently 170 pounds. Your plan sounds good, but you might consider eating a bit more.  When I was 185-195 (Mar-Apr), I was eating around 1350 kcal per day (up from 1200) but when I calculated my average caloric deficit based on how much I ate and how fast I was losing weight, it was still too high (1100 kcal/day - 100 above the recommended maximum). I am now eating a bit more (~1450 kcal/day) and actually feel better than I did at a lower intake.

Johnny I think switching up my exersize routine and trying some heavier weights is a good idea :)

I walk when I need to go to the store or somewhere relativly close, but other than that and house work I'm not very active which is why my caloric intake is so low. But hamonpl and coreyander you have good points so maybe I could try eating more on the days that I work out?

Thanks everyone.