Can you take weight off specific body parts by exercising target areas?

I've always heard that you can't spot reduce. I know that you can gain strength and muscle if you work out a certain area, but you just can't lose weight if you are not built to lose weight in that area. I've noticed that no matter how much weight I lose, my body composition stays pretty much the same. I still carry my body fat in the same areas. I have strengthened and gained muscles in areas that were weak, but the body fat composition stayed the same.

You cannot spot reduce. It simply cannot be done. If you target specific muscle groups, you're doing just that--targeting muscles. But fat does not turn into muscle, and muscle does not turn into fat. They're two separate types of tissue and one cannot become the other. When you lose weight, you lose weight all over your body. You may not notice particular areas right away because there's more fat in those areas. And typically, the first place you gain is the last place you lose. When you do strength training, you build up muscle groups over time and strengthen them. And muscle does not weigh more than fat. A pound of muscle and a pound of fat both weigh a pound. The difference is that muscle takes up less space than fat does. Your best bet is to eat a diet high in vegetables and lean meats, and the occasional whole grains (not multigrain, use whole grain). Exercise daily doing some sort of cardio, whether that be walking, jogging, biking, swimming, aerobics, etc. And devote some time to strength training using small sets of weights and increasing the weight over time. Be sure to leave 24 hours between training sessions so your muscles have time to repair themselves. Muscles get microscopic tears when you work them and when they heal, the muscle gets stronger. And last, make sure you're eating some sort of protein or drinking a whey protein shake directly after working out. Protein is the building block of life, and your body needs it.