A psychological strategy or strategies to help you deal with hunger and your sweet and starch cravings is essential for weight loss. 3000 calories a day are a lot more fun than 1000, and if you are going to lose weight, you are going to be hungry and you are going to crave carbohydrates. The good news is that it’s always easier to eat nothing than to eat a little. The bad news is that it’s hard to eat nothing, and at some point you have to eat. Quitting smoking is easier than losing weight, because you don’t have to smoke. At some point, you have to eat. So you need to give yourself permission to be hungry, and not eat. You need to give yourself permission to crave sweets and starches, and not eat them.