How to Deal With Cravings and Discomfort on a Diet

This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "Never Binge Again" by Glenn Livingston. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.

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Are you on the Never Binge Again food plan? Do you want to know how to deal with cravings and discomfort that come with limiting your food intake?

In his book Never Binge Again, Dr. Glenn Livingston discusses how to deal with the cravings that arise when you suddenly switch to a food plan. Additionally, if you stick to the food plan then your cravings will subside over time, and eating healthy will become easier.

Here are Dr. Glenn Livingston’s tips on how to deal with cravings and discomfort.

How to Deal With Cravings

Learning how to deal with cravings on a diet can be a challenge. Once you set your Food Plan, your response to dealing with cravings is simple:

Remember that consuming any Pig Slop is a Binge.
Remember that all thoughts that want you to Binge are Pig Squeals. You don’t have the cravings, your Pig does. ALL cravings are Pig Squeal. Every craving is nothing more than a desire for Pig Slop.
Repeat to yourself: “I will never eat Pig Slop again! I will remain 100% committed to my Food Plan until my dying breath.

Eat according to your Food Plan, and your cravings will subside.

Your only job is to kill the craving. It is NOT to get high on what you crave. You only want to eliminate the craving to get on with your day—your Pig wants to get high with food.

Killing a craving is like pouring water on a fire in your backyard so you don’t burn down the house. Getting high with food is like throwing gasoline on the fire and inhaling the fumes.

Also, consider contentment vs mania. Contentment is a gentle state of mind that is repeatable, sustainable, and responsible. Mania is unstable—it’s a temporary pleasure that becomes more difficult to repeat, like drug addicts “chasing the dragon.”

Remember the exercise about what you deprive yourself of by not indulging your craving, and what you deprive yourself of by indulging.

Dealing with Discomfort

Some may think that any plan that is going to work should be easy and comfortable at all times. Thus, any food plan that causes discomfort is probably wrong, and Binging is the way to alleviate discomfort.

This is insane. Does any good thing come with zero discomfort? Does your favorite athlete get to where he or she is with complete comfort? Is building a billion-dollar company easy the entire way?

You do NOT need to be comfortable to stick to your food plan. There will be times where you feel uncomfortable. Your Pig must know it will NEVER consider this time to be Binging opportunities.

Just because you’re uncomfortable does NOT mean you will die. Your body is used to binging, and if you suddenly take away its Food High food, it’ll think you’re starving. You are not starving. Even if you ate zero calories, it would take weeks for you to starve to death.

You have a greater ability to tolerate discomfort than you think. You need to want it enough.

Here’s a thought exercise: picture someone you love dearly—your child, spouse, parent, or pet. Now think of a Never food. Now imagine that there’s a kidnapper watching this person at all times. If you ever eat your Never food again, the kidnapper will abduct that person and you’ll never hear from this person again. The ONLY way to keep this person safe is to abstain from that Never food again. What would you do?
It’s a no-brainer—you’d easily avoid the Never food, because the consequences are so bad. This is the extent of your ability to tolerate discomfort.

That said, humans seek sustenance when 1) nutrients are depleted, 2) they’re cold, 3) when blood sugar drops low. To counter this, stay warm and hydrated, and eat regular, consistent healthy meals.

How to Deal With Cravings and Discomfort on a Diet