Need to Lose 20 pounds in 9 months!

Finally, a sensible diet question with an obtainable permanent goal.

small changes.  very small changes so you don't have to worry about backsliding.

replace one high calorie snack a day with a piece of fresh fruit or vegetable, or replace one soda pop with a bottle of water every day

walk just a little bit more, or a little bit faster

small changes can let you drop 1/2 to 1 pound a week without depriving or starving yourself, or changing your life or habits.  each change will reduce your weight, to a point, then you need another small change, to continue to lose weight.

to lose 20 pounds in 9 months, one bottle of pop a day change would probably do it, and then some 

that's all I had to do to lose thirty pounds in a year, just drink less pop and more water 

You've set a very sensible goal, and as others have said, small changes should do you a lot of good, and you should be able to achieve your goal.  As well as eating less though, if you want to get rid of 'belly fat' specifically, exercise is a good idea - you don't have to go crazy, just try to walk more each day, take the stairs instead of the lift, etc - just get a bit more active, and you should see results, and