Trying to lose weight typically sounds exciting at first. There’s often a rush of enthusiasm when embarking on a new self-change experience.

Dieting researchers Janet Polivy and Peter Herman coined the term false hope syndrome 25 years ago; there is no actual syndrome, but it describes the euphoria of optimism and overconfidence that breeds inflated expectations of success. They noted that in the dieting space, this is typically followed by experiencing the misery of defeat.

While it may seem like setting a weight-related goal is just the kickstart you need, consider how doing so may actually destroy your motivation in the long run. Motivation is a finicky beast. It’s often fleeting—here today, gone tomorrow. Motivation researchers found that there are different types of motivation, which sit on a spectrum with

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