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.

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