Q&A: Does exercise help burn off meal calories at a faster rate?

If I eat immediately after exercising, will I burn off more of the meal than I normally would? —A.P., Scarsdale, N.Y.

Maybe. Physical activity of any kind speeds up your metabolism for several hours after a workout, depending on its intensity and duration. So your body is still burning calories at a faster rate during that time than if you hadn't exercised at all, a phenomenon that fitness aficionados call "afterburn." But the best way to boost the rate at which your body burns calories all the time—not just after exercise—is through strength training, which increases your body's ratio of muscle to fat. Aim for two sessions a week that work each of the major muscle groups, and use a resistance that allows you to do no more than eight to 12 repetitions of each exercise (or 10 to 15 reps for beginners or people with very little muscle).