Question of the Day

The idea is to get used to healthy intakes of food and providing what your body needs, not necessarily what your appetite or mind wants. The notion that you must be eating a lot is entrenched in society and American culture.
There is no scientific evidence that having a faster metabolism is healthier that I am aware of - it simply allows you to consume more. In fact, research suggests that having a slower metabolism may extend life - and recently, for example, in an earthquake in India, an elderly woman trapped beneath the rubble survived several days without food or water. The article cited her slow metabolism as the reason she was able to make it for so long. So in her case, wouldn't having that lower metabolism be optimal? It saved her life.

I'd say most people I know who live healthy settle into the portions and enjoy them. They don't have a desire to eat more. So what if their metabolism is lower - if they are sticking to the plan and enjoying it, again, what is the concern? If they want to consume more to gain muscle, they increase portions for a meal or two.

The body operates by homeostasis. Just as it will not arbitrarily raise metabolism, it won't randomly lower it, either. So if you average 1600 calories and your metabolism lowers so that you maintain at 1600 calories, as long as your intake is consistent, you will be fine except for the fact that the average adult loses muscle mass each year and therefore has a slight reduction in metabolism. In other words, regardless of if you are at 2000 calories or 1600 calories, unless you are stimulating your muscles, you will lose them, and lowered metabolism is a natural side effect of aging that is countered by accumulating lean mass - hardly maintenance, but actually a slight bulking.

As for resetting metabolism, I had a client who we raised his metabolism from around 2600 per day to 3100 (according to DietPower's calculations) in about a week. I've found on cutting plans that simply one week at a new calorie level is all it takes to raise the metabolism, sometimes with a shift in macronutrients (ie. higher protein/fat) unless the person is suffering issues with hormone balance, has thyroid issues, or has overtrained to the point of adrenal exhaustion.

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