I agree completely with RainyDays and other posts, for many of the same reasons. Fat loss is an all-over process, and usually the areas of the body that are leaner to begin with will show it first, since there's less fat there to start with, while the area we're concerned with will show it last. This is why when on one's fat loss program not to keep looking at one's tummy all the time but to note whether leaner areas are starting to show. At first that might seem discouraging, but actually it means that the fat loss process has started and that in due time with continued attention to diet and workouts, that tummy WILL be in much better shape according to your own body structure. We do all differ in our responses to foods and exercises, so one has to find what works. Personally, I have found that since my diet is already very good(yes, it's true that one can always out-eat one's workout LOL), and I'm on the lighter side to begin with, what really does it for me is adding in a decent amount of cardio, 4-5 days a week, for 45 minutes of steady-state work. By that I don't mean slogging along and dawdling along with a book for an hour on the elliptical trainer. If using the elliptical(I do) which can be very good, one should be working hard enough such that that dawdling along with a magazine or a book is impossible. The controls and readouts for speed, incline and resistance are there for a reason, so you can tweak your elliptical workout accordingly. Too many people just glide along at low resistance and incline and wonder why it's not doing anything for them. One has to WORK, whether it's steady-state cardio, or intervals(more about that shortly). When one has a good base of fitness, endurance and strength, then varying this with some sort of interval training once or twice a week is very beneficial.
For some folks, it's the presence of starchy carbs that affects them one way or the other - many people are to some degree starchy-carb-sensitive, especially the older we get, even if no problem had previously existed. With that in mind, in general, most people could do with first ditching the refined carbs like anything with white flour and sugar, and switch to smaller amounts of whole-grain products and more more non-starchy veggies. It's not that carbs themselves are bad - we do need them if we are active, it is a matter of what TYPE of carbs, and in some cases just how great a proportion can be safely eaten and still result in fat loss. People do vary in their carb tolerance in general. Insulin-resistant people really have to keep tabs on this, because too many carbs for them will result in fat not being released for energy the way it's supposed to be. This is why blood sugar control for many people is the key to sustainable fat loss. Some people(most notably the folks with blood sugar issues)do well with a higher-protein, somewhat higher-fat diet, while other people have more leeway with carbs, and then some unfortunate people have to limit BOTH fats and carbs to get anything moving at all. For a lot of people, this is a trial and error process, but there is a metabolic typing test online somewhere for free that will point one in the right general direction as far as what proportions of protein fat and carbs in the diet.
Last but not least, after fixing one's diet to a sustainable healthy one for one's physiology, getting a regular workout program together that emphasizes large muscle groups and that recruits many muscles all at once. Big metabolic pay-off, as well as increased intensity which is what it takes for the exercise part of fat loss. Increased lean muscle tissue burns more calories at rest than fat for sure. However, for women, even with good work, it does take time to put on a few pounds of muscle on account of our hormones. But don't let that deter you from training - you have everything to benefit from it. Hope all this helps!