Breaking Up With Binge Eating

Stop Arguing With Your Cravings: A Conversation with Dr. Glenn Livingston

This episode is a rare guest conversation on Breaking Up With Binge Eating. Georgie is joined by Dr. Glenn Livingston, psychologist, author, and creator of Defeat Your Cravings, for a wide-ranging conversation about binge eating, cravings, food rules, self-trust, and why insight alone often isn’t enough to change an eating pattern.

Glenn shares his own history with compulsive overeating, including how years of therapy and self-understanding helped him become kinder to himself, but did not automatically stop the binge eating. Together, Georgie and Glenn explore why emotional pain can be part of the picture without being the whole cause, how the brain can use old wounds as justification for continuing a pattern, and why clear lines or “guardrails” can sometimes reduce the mental negotiation that keeps cravings alive.

They also talk about the modern food environment, hyper-palatable foods, intermittent fasting, perfectionism, self-forgiveness, and why it is often easier to prevent cravings upstream than to fight them once they are roaring. Glenn offers practical tools for identifying the thoughts that try to talk you into eating against your own best judgment, while Georgie brings in her perspective on under-eating, over-productivity, emotional needs, and the importance of responding to both hunger and fullness cues with care.

A key theme in this conversation is that recovery does not have to be built on shame. You can aim clearly without attacking yourself when you miss. You can protect your recovery without making your life smaller. And you can become someone who takes your own needs seriously, even when that means being a little “weird” in public, packing food, skipping the dessert you don’t want, or refusing to harm yourself with food for someone else’s comfort.

Try this week: Notice one craving or urge and write down the thought that tries to justify it. Is it futility? Permission? “I deserve this”? “I’ll start tomorrow”? Then ask: what would actually support me here?

You can learn more about Dr. Glenn Livingston and access his free resources at DefeatYourCravings.com.

New to the show? Start Here: https://breakingupwithbingeeating.transistor.fm/start-here
Pick the listening path that fits what you’re dealing with right now.

New to the show? Start Here: https://breakingupwithbingeeating.transistor.fm/start-here Pick the listening path that fits what you’re dealing with right now.

Show Notes:
Have you ever thought, “I don’t even like this that much… so why do I still want more?” In this episode, Georgie explains the difference between wanting and liking—and why urges can stay loud even when pleasure is fading.

You’ll learn how wanting and liking are supported by partly different brain systems: dopamine-heavy motivation circuits help generate the “go get it” drive, while pleasure is more tied to hedonic circuits involving opioid and endocannabinoid signaling. The takeaway: drive and pleasure can decouple. That’s why food can feel magnetic even when it’s not actually delivering much satisfaction.

Georgie also walks through three common reasons wanting can run hotter than liking: cues and habit loops, scarcity, and stress or depletion. You’ll learn how to use a not worth it list, a pleasure check, and the concept of diminishing returns to interrupt the trance of “more will fix it.”

Try this week: Pick one risk food or one risk time when wanting tends to get loud. If you eat, pause partway through and ask: “Am I actually liking this, or am I chasing relief?” If liking is low, try one re-route action from your urge map: nourishment, soft landing, soothing, permission with structure, or breaking a cue chain.

Coming next: What to do in the first 60 seconds of an urge—before it escalates and before you start negotiating with yourself.

New to the show? Start Here: https://breakingupwithbingeeating.transistor.fm/start-here
Pick the listening path that fits what you’re dealing with right now.
Show Notes:
In this episode, Georgie gives you a practical “urge map” to answer the question that matters in real life: what kind of urge is this? Because the same pantry moment can come from very different mechanisms—and if you use the wrong tool, it’s easy to assume you “did it wrong” when you were simply solving the wrong problem. The core skill is matching the tool to the mechanism.

You’ll learn five common urge types and what each one actually needs: the Low-Fuel urge (under-fueling—food that counts), the Depletion urge (low capacity—less load and a soft landing), the Pain Relief urge (emotional or physical discomfort—soothing and often connection), the Scarcity/Rebellion urge (restriction and “I can’t” energy—a believable yes and permission with structure), and the Autopilot urge (cue chains—pattern interruption, not self-criticism). You’ll also get a quick five-question check-in to identify what’s driving the urge in the moment, plus concrete examples of “permission with structure” and simple ways to break an evening cue chain.

Try this week: Pick your most common urge type and run one experiment for seven days—data, not a test. (Afternoon anchor snack; a 10-minute downshift after dinner; a two-word feeling label + one moment of contact; a planned “yes” with structure; or breaking one link in your autopilot routine.)

Coming next: Why urges can feel so persuasive even when the eating isn’t that enjoyable—wanting vs liking.

New to the show? Start Here: https://breakingupwithbingeeating.transistor.fm/start-here
Pick the listening path that fits what you’re dealing with right now.

Show Notes: An Urge Is Not an Order: What Urges Are (and What They Aren’t) (The Urge Proof Life — Episode 1)
Urges can feel like an emergency—like the outcome is already decided before you even start. In this season opener, Georgie reframes urges as signals, not commands, and explains why urges get so loud when pressure rises and capacity drops. You’ll learn why the goal isn’t to eliminate urges, but to keep them from escalating.

This episode also tackles a common trap: the belief that you have to binge to make an urge go away. In reality, urges can rise, peak, and pass without a binge—and bingeing often creates more urges by reinforcing the relief loop and adding extra pressure afterward (shame, fear, compensation thoughts, and scarcity). You’ll also learn what fuels escalation in the moment—panic language, negotiating, future-tripping, shame/secrecy, and all-or-nothing thinking—and how to step out of that spiral.

You’ll get a simple four-step “first move” for any urge: label it (“signal, not order”), use neutral language (“uncomfortable, not dangerous”), take a small pause to restore choice, and ask what the urge is actually asking for (food, rest, relief, connection, or predictability).

Try this week: Catch and label three urges. Don’t make it a test of whether you eat—just reduce escalation by 10% and treat it as data, not a verdict.

Coming next: Episode 2 builds your Urge Map—how to identify what kind of urge you’re having and match the tool to the mechanism.

The Urge Proof Life — Season Trailer
A practical season on urges: how to identify what kind of urge you’re having and match the tool to the mechanism, with one small weekly experiment in every episode.
Want extra support? Join All Access (real-life coaching sessions, shared with permission): georgiefear.com/podcast
Want to work with me? ConfidentEaters.com
New to the show? Start Here: https://breakingupwithbingeeating.transistor.fm/start-here Pick the listening path that fits what you’re dealing with right now.

New to the show? Start Here: https://breakingupwithbingeeating.transistor.fm/start-here
Pick the listening path that fits what you’re dealing with right now.

Show Notes: 
What happens when things are finally going better… and your brain decides that means it must be fake?

In this coaching excerpt, Sarah names a fear I hear all the time: “Am I doing well… or am I just performing because someone’s watching?” We talk about why progress can feel suspicious, how “imposter/cheat” stories keep the bar moving, and why support + accountability don’t invalidate your recovery — they’re often part of how it sticks.

If you’ve ever discounted your own improvement or waited for the other shoe to drop, this one will make a lot of sense.

In this clip, we cover:

• The “fraud” fear: I’m doing better, so it must not be real (and why that’s such a common reflex)
• How your brain explains success away (“It was an easy month,” “It doesn’t count,” “I’m just performing”)
• Accountability as a legitimate tool — not proof you’re faking it
• Why motivation is almost never purely “for me” or “for someone else” (it’s usually both)
• Letting “relief” be relief without turning it into a new perfection contract
• Using evidence (as weeks build into months) to build trust in real change

Timestamp highlights

• 0:05 — “Am I doing well or am I performing for Georgie?”
• 1:10 — What “faking it” would actually mean (and what it doesn’t)
• 2:00 — Why external support helps humans succeed (and it’s allowed)
• 3:10 — How accountability often becomes self-accountability over time
• 5:20 — The fear of believing it’s getting easier
• 6:35 — The “who do you think you are?” voice + why pride can feel unsafe
• 8:10 — “Kicking the tires” on recovery through real-life stressors
• 8:45 — “I had an angry piece of toast this week.” (and what happens next)

Takeaway to try

If your brain is insisting your progress “doesn’t count,” ask:  What’s the evidence in front of me — in my actions, not my feelings?
Weeks and months of behavior change are data. You’re allowed to trust data.

Coaching/support: [email protected]

New to the show? Start Here: https://breakingupwithbingeeating.transistor.fm/start-here
Pick the listening path that fits what you’re dealing with right now.

This Is Treatable (From Distress to Stability — Part 12, Season Finale)

In the final episode of this season, Georgie names what many people quietly doubt: this is treatable. Not because it’s quick or simple, but because binge eating and emotional eating aren’t random or a personal flaw—they’re understandable system responses to pressure, depletion, and the search for relief. 

This episode reframes what real progress looks like: not dramatic turning points, but quieter shifts—more time between binges, shorter spirals, urges that don’t hijack you the same way, and hard days met with steadiness instead of punishment. You’ll hear a new definition of progress (“what happened next?” and “did I reduce pressure anywhere?”), a compassionate way to understand setbacks as data (pressure exceeded capacity), and a framework for moving from self-surveillance to self-understanding. 

If you take one thing from this finale, let it be this: you’re not failing—you’re learning a pattern that responds to understanding, steadiness, and support. You’re allowed to keep learning at your own pace, and you don’t have to do it alone. 

New to the show? Start Here: https://breakingupwithbingeeating.transistor.fm/start-here
Pick the listening path that fits what you’re dealing with right now.

The morning after a hard night of eating can feel heavy—physically and mentally—and it’s easy for your brain to start reaching for a “fix”: skipping meals, tightening rules, stepping on the scale, promising to be “very good” today. In this episode, Georgie explains why compensation usually turns into overcompensation, and how that swing adds more pressure to an already unsettled system—making another binge more likely. 

Instead, this episode lays out a stabilizing approach: listen to your body, return to regular meals, and treat the aftermath with steadiness rather than correction. You’ll hear a simple framework for “the morning after” that starts with body stabilization (predictable nourishment, hydration, sleep, gentle care), then mental stabilization (language that keeps choice online—“pressure exceeded capacity” instead of “I blew it”), and finally emotional stabilization (safety and connection instead of shame and isolation). 

Try this: After a hard eating episode, do nothing dramatic. Eat your next meal, drink water, rest, and get curious about what increased pressure—not how to redeem yourself.

New to the show? Start Here: https://breakingupwithbingeeating.transistor.fm/start-here
Pick the listening path that fits what you’re dealing with right now.

This episode is about the moment before things fully blow up—not the binge itself, and not the morning-after panic, but the point where you start to feel… off. When your schedule changes (weekends, travel, illness, late nights, company), the day can lose its scaffolding and pressure quietly accumulates until eating starts to feel urgent and chaotic. 

You’ll learn why “anchors” matter—regular meals, transitions, and small rhythms that reduce uncertainty—and what to do when those anchors disappear. The core tool is helping the day “land” more gently: creating one clear pause where forward motion stops, nothing urgent is required, and choice can come back online. You’ll also hear practical examples of what that landing looks like (sitting down to eat, plating food, taking five quiet minutes, changing clothes to mark a transition, deciding when the day is done) and how to use as many small pauses as you need—because staying steady on a disrupted day isn’t about discipline, it’s about responsiveness. 

Try this week: On the first day you notice the slide starting, don’t try to “reset perfectly.” Choose one small anchor and one landing pause, and treat it as support—not a test. 

New to the show? Start Here: https://breakingupwithbingeeating.transistor.fm/start-here
Pick the listening path that fits what you’re dealing with right now.

If you can hold it together all day—and then feel like everything falls apart at night—this episode is for you.

Nighttime bingeing isn’t a character flaw. It’s usually what happens when pressure exceeds capacity at the end of the day. In this episode, Georgie breaks down the most common drivers of nighttime binges (and why they often stack), then gives you a practical “match the tool to the mechanism” menu so you can experiment with small changes that actually shift your evenings.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why nighttime bingeing is rarely about willpower—and more often about state
• The 4 most common drivers of nighttime binges
• A simple in-the-moment check-in to identify what’s driving tonight’s urge
• A “Solutions Menu” with experiments you can try this week—without turning it into a new perfection project
• A quick script for when you catch yourself in the pantry on autopilot