Actually, abbymarie1196 is right. You need to run or do some sort of cardio.
You can't spot reduce. You can't focus on weight loss in only one area. Even if you work out your ab muscles, your stomach won't get any smaller if its covered in fat (it might even get thicker because you're building muscle under the fat--this has happened to me.) Its just your body's natural shape. Its mine too, and it sucks. A lot. I'd love to have my body gain weight in my butt or thighs, but people like us just aren't that lucky.
So the only thing you can do is lower your whole body's fat. You'll lose weight all over (arms, legs, butt, chest--sadly), but your stomach will reduce as well. But if you want those beautiful, toned, rock-hard abs and tiny waist (that I know I want!) you're going to have to lose a lot of weight. When my abs finally looked the way I wanted, my arms, legs, face, everything was completely emaciated and I had NO boobs. (and I was deep in my eating disorder and eating next to nothing.)
You can make it better, but it will likely never be *perfect*. Try looking up some beautiful role models with our shape. Jillian Michaels, for instance, has our body shape (short/average height, thick in the middle) but she's also amazingly fit and gorgeous. Aspire to make yourself look like how you could look, instead of something unattainable.
The problem is that you are not eating enough to be able to burn fat and are likely losing muscle/water due to low caloric intake. The loss of excess belly fat is an indicator of good health and proper nourishment, and if your belly fat seems stubborn it is because you are not receiving the correct nutrition. If you do not eat enough to fuel your muscles and organs, you lose your ability to process fat as fuel. 1200 calories is the medical minimum for a small, sedentary, middle-aged woman. You are 5'5" and still physically developing, which means you naturally burn more calories and will have to eat more to get your body out of "hyper-efficiency mode" (the process by which your body conserves calories when it is not being properly nourished). It is a good rule of thumb to never eat under your basal metabolic rate, or BMR, which is the number of calories your body would use to maintain itself if you did nothing but sleep all day. Your stats indicate that your BMR is approximately 1700 calories. Try adding more whole grains and lean proteins, and incorporate weight training. I have lost almost 100 pounds this way.
"You want to be a calorie-burning machine. If you do not eat enough, you become a calorie-conserving machine."
Option 1. Increase your caloric intake to include the proper amount and types of food your body needs. Deal with a couple pounds of water weight that will occur and disappear quickly. Keep exercising. Lift weights. Your metabolism is probably slightly damaged, but you are young and it will repair quickly. Lose the excess fat at a rate of no more than 1.5 lbs per week. Enjoy a fit body for life, with very minimal effort to keep it that way as long as you keep your metabolism healthy.
Option 2. Keep eating what is technically starvation rations. Keep forcing your body to conserve the fat. Hurt your metabolism more. Stress out about a "skinny-fat" body for life and have trouble forever keeping weight off.
I'm sorry for how harsh it sounds, but it is true. With your stats and the timeframe you provided, it is unlikely that you will reach your goal in time either way. But that goal is unrealistic and uneducated (no offense). If you choose Option 1, you will have your ideal beach body, just not quite as soon as you wanted it. If you choose Option 2, you will probably never have it. It's your choice. There is literally no other way.
If it's any consolation, it's totally not your fault. Growing up female in the modern American society, we are taught that 1200 is the calorie limit if we want to lose weight. No wonder we all have trouble losing weight and keeping it off! I didn't know either. But this is not just about what you look like in a few weeks. It's about how you want to look and feel for the rest of your life. Eat clean, train mean, live lean. Good luck!
