Controlling one's metabolism is the cornerstone to any fitness plan. Your metabolism is the measure of how many calories you're burning each day, and the equation is simple. Calories taken in should nominally equal calories expended in order to maintain one's body weight. Any excess food that isn't needed to power the body gets stored as fat for later usage.

Metabolism and your Daily Calorie Needs

Lifestyle, diet and exercise play critical roles in determining the amount of calories taken in and expended. A 60 year-old man will obviously require less calories than a 20 year-old university student.

The UK Department of Health has estimated the following daily calorie intake:

• Women: 1940 calories
• Men: 2550 calories

Some diet programs are based primarly on calorie calculations. Eat what you want, but just don't go over the diet's recommended daily calorie intake.

Those seeking to lose weight should not only modify their diet and lifestyle, but also seek to increase their metabolism. An increased metabolism helps one shed pounds and keep them off.

Ways to Increase Metabolism

• Exercise
• Metabolism-enhancing food / drink

Metabolism Boosting Foods and Drinks

• Coffee (cafenated): Coffee offers that extra pickup and blocks the chemical adenosin. Two or three cups maximum recommended per day. As coffee also acts as a mild diuretic, drink a few extra cups of water each day to replenish.
• Oatmeal: is low in the glycemic index and releases a steady source of glucose into the blood. 1 cup of oatmeal yields 145 calories.
• Drinking Ice-Cold Water: This speeds up your metabolism about 5% as your body works harder to keep warm. The same applies with taking cold showers.
• Lentils: provide both carbohydrates, protein and fiber. If you don't eat beans often, then start with small servings of lentils otherwise you will find yourself farting a lot and end up dining alone.
• Bananas
• Sardines
• Steak
• Almonds

As a roundup, avoid alcohol which will actually lower your metabolism and consume foods high in protein, fiber and calcium and drink plenty of water.

One of the most talked about metabolism boosting drinks has been in use for centuries - green tea.

People have been making claims on the benefits of green tea for centuries. Green tea has long been touted for lowering one's cholesterol levels, improving immune system function, alleviating symptoms of arthritis, preventing cardiovascular disease, and even warding off the big C - cancer.

An increasing number of scientific studies are all suggesting that it's true. Amongst the benefits of consuming green tea is its metabolism boosting effect.

Green tea's effects are due to the compounds it contains, especially those that belong to the catechin polyphenols family. Of interest is the one called epigallocatechin gallate, or EGCG. Studies have shown that it acts as a powerful antioxidant and kills cancer cells without harming other tissue. It has also been recorded to prevent the formation of blood clots, thereby reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Green Tea Conclusion

So drink up! Some scientists say two cups a day is enough, while others maintain that you have to drink as many as ten to achieve the full benefits. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle, and four or five is probably enough for most people.