Do I exercise enough?

I'd say 30-45mins of cardio, at least 4-5x a week, will give you great results! as well with eating 1200-1500 calories a day!

When your eating 1500 calories a day, try to get in 45 mins of cardio. Your doing great!

I think it's plenty. Losing weight is almost entirely about calorie deficit. At your weight, you would likely do best to aim for a 500 calorie deficit daily. I would suggest setting MFP to 1lb/wk, logging all your exercise, and eating back most of your exercise calories. Doing that will get you a 500-calorie deficit, where you will be most likely to lose according to plan and have energy to continue all your activities. My guess is that 1200-1500 calories is probably too low for you. Too much of a deficit will get you hormonal disruptions and probably a plateau, as well as the risk of muscle loss and damaged metabolism. Just to be clear, I don't think you're necessarily eating a 'dangerously' low amount of calories, but that you will likely do better with a bit more.

Without looking at your diary, I would also try to make sure to get 1g protein/lbs lean body mass. I would guess around 110g protein daily would be appropriate.

I play Baseball & Dance (Hip Hop)
weight is 165 trying to lose 20-30 pounds
I eat about 1200 - 1500 a day

Everyday I wake up and jog in place for 10 minutes, then go outside do hurdles (ones they use for football) and then hit 20 balls on the tee (Baseball), then later I have a nice dance session for about 30 minutes and its not easy dancing you see at clubs, its to the point when im done im drenched. Last thing I do is 2 or maybe 3 times a week I have a baseball game or practice.

So someone help me out and answer the question, or tell me what Im doing wrong

Well that depends on your RMR. Exercise is for making your lean body mass pretty and weight lifting will give you the most bang for shaping your body, it doesn't really do much for weight loss. You can't out exercise too many calories. I learned this an a marathon and ultra marathon runner who continued to gain weight even though I did not think I was eating too much.

A calorie deficit is for weight loss. It is really easy to under estimate how much you are really eating. People play mental accounting games with calories just like with finances. Take a true hard look at calories, measure it out, weigh it (even packaged foods will be over - never under because companies will get in trouble, but it's legal for them to be over).

Your body loses weight in chunks, not linear. I have found that you can do everything right and your weight loss seems to plateau but if you are patient and keep exercising and eating at a deficit (however slight) you will lose it, it will suddenly "whoosh". There are so many variables for the scale; water retention, digestion, hormones, allergies, sodium, carbs, water intake, DOMS, inflammation, the list goes on. People mistakenly think they lose or gain weight when they eat more or less because of these fluctuations.

Losing weight requires tremendous patience. You will not lose it when you want it or where you want it. The body does its thing. Some apparent plateaus can last a month or so. You cannot make it happen faster. You must focus on two things; calories and exercise. Nothing else matters. Scales and metrics don't matter. The day in and day out grind of exercise and calories are all that matters. It is not very exciting until things fall into place. You get your victories and you ride one victory to the next.

The scale is a trend tool. The scale is good but put it away and only check once a week and only use it as a trend tool. It will fluctuate, it does not matter. Take front side and back progress pictures at least once a month. You will see differences that the metrics won't tell you and it's that little bit of NSV that will keep you going until the next victory.

Some people will say you need to eat more. Some people will say you need to eat less. Only you can decide or check with your doctor. But what would make the most sense? Taller people have more room in their calorie budget to go up or down. Shorter people have less room and get frustrated with "eat more" because that typically does not work. If you are confused about it don't just listen to any of us, do some research and get approval from your doctor, then just do what you need to do and tune the rest of us out.

It really depends on your RMR. If you are short like I am then your RMR is really just above the 1200 limit so you really don't have much room for a calorie deficit and going up is less likely to work. If you are taller you will have a higher RMR and can go up or down and still be in a deficit so you can lose no matter what. All that matters is a calorie deficit. If you are short it can be hard to have a deficit at 1200 or above so your only option is to check with your doctor. I did and he agreed and had me go down.

Exercise is to make your lean body mass pretty, strong, and healthy (especially lifting weights).

A calorie deficit is to lose fat. A calorie budget keeps your fat level where you need to be, either losing fat or maintaining.

Nothing else really matters much.

You don't have to worry about starvation mode unless you are down to 12% and you will likely be happy with your weight before you get to that point.

What is the exact number of calories for you?

We’ve been trying to figure out an exact NUMBER of calories that everyone should be eating, without recognizing that everyone is slightly different. In truth, the calories aren’t the end game. Your body is. So the EXACT amount of Calories that are right for you is the EXACT amount that will allow you to maintain your ideal bodyweight no matter what some calculator or chart says.

In other words, an online calculator might tell you that you need to eat 2,500 calories
per day to maintain your ideal bodyweight. But the only way to know for sure if this is
the right amount for you is to test it out. If you gain weight or can’t lose weight eating
that much, then you know you need to eat less to lose weight no matter how many
calculators and text books say otherwise.

This doesn’t mean your metabolism is broken, it just means the estimate of your needs
was just a bit off.

-John Barban (The Body Centric Calorie Guide from the Venus Index and Adonis Index Manuals)

The Theory of Fat Availability:
•There is a set amount of fat that can be released from a fat cell.
•The more fat you have, the more fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
•The less fat you have, the less fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
•Towards the end of a transformation, when body fat is extremely low you
may not have enough fat to handle a large caloric deficit anymore.

At the extreme low end, when your body fat cannot ‘keep up’ with the energy deficit
you've imposed on your body, the energy MUST come from SOMEWHERE. This is
when you are at risk of losing lean body mass during dieting (commonly referred to
as ‘starvation mode’). This happens at extremely low levels of body fat, under 6% in
men and 12% in women [Friedl K.E. J Appl Phsiol, 1994].

-Brad Pilon and John Barban (from The Reverse Taper Diet in The Adonis Index and Venus Index manuals)

@MoreBean13 Wouldnt eatting back my calorie deficit make me gain weight? It doesnt make sense to me, but I wanted to lose 2 lbs/wk and lose 10 pounds before the end of november.

No, eating back your exercise cals won't make you gain weight. Like Jamona said, you're already at a deficit. If you're set to lose 2 lbs /week, that's a 1,000 calorie deficit. Then, is you, say, exercise 475 calories, your deficit becomes 1,475 calories. That big of a deficit is unhealthy for a person with a starting weight of 165lbs.

2lbs/week is not a sustainable goal for someone of with your starting weight. If you manage to keep the pace up and lose the 10lbs by the end of November, you will have done so at the cost of your metabolism and muscle mass, and will almost definitely regain the weight at the end. Worse yet, when you sacrifice muscle, and then regain weight, you end up the same weight you started, but fatter. It's why yo-yo dieting is a bad thing- you just get a little fatter with each cycle of doing it.

I would strongly advise you to re-assess your goals. Get your bodyfat measured, and consider working towards a bodyfat goal rather than a weight goal. You will look better and end up fit, rather than skinny and hungry.

@MoreBean13 im only 5'8 weighing 165, im chubby its not like im skinny trying to get skinnier.

OK- you're at the upper end of healthy. I don't mean to suggest you're underweight, but 2 lbs/week is appropriate for people with 50-100lbs+ to lose to get in the healthy range. You're 'skinny' for a weight loss community. The amount of weight you want to lose is from healthy weight to lower but still healthy weight- those would be considered vanity lbs. Vanity lbs are difficult to lose, and requires some patience. Probably 1lb/wk is even pushing it, and perhaps you should strive for 1lb/wk but be prepared to be satisfied with 0.5lbs/wk. I would still consider a bodyfat goal instead of a weight goal. You could add muscle, stay at your current weight, and not be chubby. Just something to think about.

Either way, your deficit is too high. It's not going to get you the results you want.