intake & exercise questions PLEASE HELP!

Ok, I have been on this site for about a year and lost around 12 pounds before but wasn't working out at the same time.  I have gained around 5-6 pounds back and am now excercising (elliptical only, is that ok?).  I try to eat around 1300 calories a day but for some reason it is really hard to stick to and it has been more like 1500! I stuck to like 1200 most days fine last time but it is different now.  I do eat pretty healthy though.  As healthy as a vegan in Iraq with no kitchen can eat...

So, I usually do the elliptical at least 4 times a week burning around 400 calories each time.  I don't do weight training because that is the especially crowded side of the gym and I get really, really nervous around a lot of people in situations like that.  I just need to figure out the amount of calories i really should be eating, can anyone help me?  Also, is the elliptical good enough?  Here are my stats, thanks a lot!  I feel really stupid having to ask all these questions because i lost the weight fine before on here but i am just so frustrated.

26 years old

5'1.5"

CW: 118ish

GW: 105-110

Thanks!!

BUMP

Can someone please help? 

Congrats on the weight loss!

Well, I think you've been finding it hard sticking around 1200 because your body was telling you it needed more food. 1200 cals is the bare minimum for very short, super-slight female couch potatoes :) According to calculations made here, your bmr (what you burn just existing) is 1340.
Add to that light exercise, and your daily burn is 1840. A moderately active woman of your stats has a daily burn of 2080.

I'd put you as 'moderately active', so you should definitely shoot for eating  at least 1500 - 1700 cals daily. A 500 cal deficit daily will make for weight loss of a pound a week.
I do want to add that you are already at a perfectly healhty weight - so maybe you'd be better off maintaining but building some more muscle mass (less body fat and more muscle mass makes you look trimmer). As muscle takes up less space than fat, you might see the inches go down as opposed to the weight.

Thanks... I don't know, that seems kind of high though for my height, you know?  I don't think i would be classified as moderately active since i sit at a desk almost 12 hours a day 7 days a week. 

Is the elliptical enough?  Will it help with my stomach?

Well, if you're lightly active (don't set your activity level at sedentary), you still need much more than you were eating. At a daily burn of 1840, subtracting 500 cals would leave you with only 1340 cals to eat every day. This definitely isn't too much. Either up the exercise a little and eat more so you can safely stay at a 500 cal deficit (e.g. burning 2100 a day, eating 1600), or go for a smaller deficit.
Also, as you already are at a healthy bmi, weight loss might go a lot slower. Your body feels comfortable if it's at a healthy weight, and it won't want to let go of any "excess" pounds - because there are no excess pounds.

Do keep in mind that sore muscles retain more water, so if you weigh yourself after a work-out, the scale might not have gone down all that much.

I'd say definitely up your cals and see how you fare :) If you've been undereating for a long time, you might see an initial weight gain, but your body will thank you for being properly fed!

Going on the elliptical daily does burn cals, but if you want to 'tone up' don't forget lifting. If you want to keep doing cardio, it's better to go for HIIT (high intensity interval training) than just going at the same pace for one hour. Read this and see if that helps you out :) I myself have been a complete couch potato since quitting the gym, so for any specific advice on fitness, you should have a gander in the fitness forum.
It will help with your stomach as it burns cals, and burning more than you eat means weight loss. There is no such thing as spot reducing though: if you lose weight, you lose it everywhere. The only thing you can do is firm up your abs etc. through exercise aimed specifically at those areas.

Hey, I'm basically the same height as you and know how you feel about sometimes seeming too high for our height. Looking at your profile and pictures it looks like we've been through similar weight stages, too. I know I felt a little uncomfortable at 118 and was there a lot this past semester. Right now I'm about 112 -113 and honestly, I'm not sure my body wants to go much lower. You are at a healthy weight, so it could be as they've mentioned above that's where your body wants to be. I know I have wide hip bones and fairly broad shoulders... and have a medium, muscular build. I also started to get concerned looks when I got under about 108 pounds I was suffering from anorexia. So don't aim too low. You look perfectly healthy in your pictures. Take the advice of others and try to tone, instead of lose. And yes, you should probably up your calories a bit. I usually have end up with about 1500 a day. 

Thanks a lot, guys.  I might just eat between 1200-1500 a day.  Not for sure yet I am still a little confused.  I did the math and it looks like maybe i should be eating 1400 a day for a 500 deficit...

Just try to eat the same amount of cals daily for a while, see how it goes; if 1400 is what you think would suit you for now, give it a try :) 1200 isn't a good number to start on as that's already the lowest you should be eating. If you lose more weight, your daily burn goes down and your deficit will get smaller and smaller :/
Good luck :D!

Just remember, calories in, calories out.  It mostly about the calories. If you eat a lot one day, do an extra workout. It's all about burning off the calories.  If you want to lose you need to burn more calories than you take in so you may need to do extra cardio until you lose the weight.  Muscle burns more calories so if you do some weight training you'll burn a lot more calories at even while you rest 

I went from 130 to 110 by doing cardio for an hour 6 to 7 days a week and weight training at least 5 days a week for about 45 minutes a session (plus, I try to only eat 1200 to 1400 cals a day).  It's easy.  find something you love and do something everyday.  One you're in the habit you'll love it!!  

Good luck and congrats on the weight loss!!