When you make the commitment to lose weight, you want to see the results of your hard work in a relatively short period. You can't specifically target your belly, arms and legs for fat loss, though -- you lose weight proportionally all over your body.

Shedding pounds seems like a widespread American pasttime. An overwhelming majority of Americans — at least 45 million of us, according to CBS News — are on a diet. And yet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 68 percent of people over 20 are either obese or overweight.

A big chest can be perceived as masculine, but not if it's flabby and consists of man boobs. Excess chest fat can negatively affect your appearance, and getting rid of it will require work. You must accumulate a caloric deficit through diet and exercise, so you lose weight from your entire body.

Losing 30 pounds in six months can be done in a healthy and gradual manner. Weight loss should occur at the rate of one to two pounds lost per week. A goal of six months gives you 24 weeks to shed the weight. which is plenty of time, if you stay on track.

Belly fat has a tendency to develop into deep visceral fat, which can pack around the organs and increase your chances for cardiovascular disease. Leg fat does not offer the same physical threat as belly fat, but it can still cause embarrassment and low self-esteem.

In your quest to get rid of belly fat, cardio workouts are more effective than situps. However, aerobic exercise does not target only belly fat. You burn excess body fat wherever you store it, including your midsection. Doing situps does provide some benefits, however.

If you are ready to drop weight quickly, you might consider the Atkins Diet. This diet was one of the first low-carb eating plans to enter the weight loss market.

If you have a special occasion coming up, such as a high school reunion or a family gathering, you may be tempted to try to lose weight in a hurry to fit into a smaller clothing size. The amount of time that it will take you depends on your current size, as well as how dedicated you are to losing weight and toning up.

You're thrilled with the prospect of losing weight and creating a new physique, but you're not so jazzed about the possibility that your breasts may sag if you lose weight. Yo-yo dieting exacerbates the natural sag that results from gravity, pregnancy, breast-feeding and adolescent growth spurts.

When women lose weight, they usually want their hips and belly to shrink -- not their breasts. You can't control from where you lose fatty tissue when you lose weight, though. The amount your chest reduces depends on your genetics and the amount of weight you lose.

Losing 20 pounds in three months isn't a simple task, but using a jump rope is a fun, inexpensive way to shed those extra pounds. Depending on how fast you jump and how much you weigh, you could burn over 1,000 calories per hour of rope jumping without investing more than $5.

Weight loss comes from managing the equation of calories in to calories out. There are 3,500 calories in a single pound of body weight. A caloric deficit of 500 calories per day would result in a weight loss of one pound per week.