Internal (or intrinsic) motivation has been noted by researchers as being a healthy predictor of successful weight loss maintenance. Intrinsic motivation comes from within a person rather than from outside rewards or fear of punishment. External (or extrinsic) motivation comes from a desire for some sort of physical reward.

Most people, during their pre-surgical psychological evaluations say the reasons they want to have bariatric surgery include improving their health (or preventing health problems) and enjoying a better quality of life (being able to do more things they want to do). However, for many people, once they lose the weight and are enjoying better health and an improved quality of life, all of a sudden that isn’t enough. All of a sudden they become obsessed with a particular number on the scale or a specific clothing size. This raises a red flag for me. Listen in and find out why! Also, learn the reasons it is important to use both external and internal motivation in the weight loss process but why having internal motivation is necessary to keep the weight off!

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SOURCE: lfhag K, Rössner S. Who succeeds in maintaining weight loss? A conceptual review of factors associated with weight loss maintenance and weight regain. Obes Rev. 2005;6(1):67–85.