Establish a cardio routine. One key to shedding body fat is burning calories through cardio. According to the American College of Sports Medicine guidelines, you should aim for 2.5 hours of heart-pumping exercise each week. If you are juggling a long work day and kids, you can divide up those 150 minutes a week however you want—10 minutes one day, 45 minutes the next. The bottom line is fit it in, according to Life Fitness. Click here and here for more on this topic.