Using exercise to increase your metabolism

Today was a pretty successful day. I decided to try to go for 75% raw and 99% vegan today, just to see if I can do it. I started the day with a cocoa-coffee mix (from the gas station convenience store) and a fuji apple (from my grocery store stash). For lunch I had a salad with olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette dressing and a banana. For an afternoon snack I had a cocoa packet mixed with hot water. For dinner I had my trusty Tofu Pad Thai with added vegetables. This plan only brought me to about 60% raw, but I definitely was 99% vegan.

I also worked out like crazy today because I attended a new bootcamp and went to the gym to meet my lifting partners. This added up to about 2 hours of working out in one day. One of the readers recently asked a question regarding how to increase the metabolism – thanks Vanessa! Well, the good news is that exercise and building muscle can increase the rate that the body uses calories for energy. So in essence, working out more often and with high intensity will increase your need for energy and thus increase your metabolism. The so-called “afterburn effect” is when your metabolism is higher for an hour or two after intense weight lifting or interval cardio. Also the more muscle you have, the higher your metabolic rate will be. Each extra pound of muscle you carry will burn up to 50 calories just to maintain itself! So if you are working out hard at the gym and building muscle, take heart, your metabolism is being boosted from all of your hard work.

Here are my “Raw On The Road” tips for the day:

• Nutrition – Set mini goals throughout your journey to challenge yourself. Try for a day to get to 100% raw or 100% vegan, or some other percentage goal.
• Weight Loss – If you are eating well but find yourself not shedding the pounds evaluate your sugar and processed carbohydrate intake. It may need to be decreased in order for your body to release the fat and build the muscle.
• Workout – If you find yourself needing excitement to break up the routine, try a new group exercise class or bootcamp. It will help you to meet more likeminded exercise partners and give you a new challenge.