The Late-Night Habit That Was Slowly Destroying My Health, And How I Broke It – Episode 201

In this episode of the One Small Bite Podcast, Dietitian Dude David Orozco, registered dietitian nutritionist, certified intuitive eating counselor, and certified exercise physiologist, delivers a deeply personal deep dive into PURGE, the fourth of the 5 Basic Daily Functions and the fourth milestone of the Alimentar Men’s Community.

Purge! The Function Nobody Taught You

David introduces the dual meaning of Purge: physical release (bowel regularity, elimination, daily cleansing) and psychological release (old habits, patterns, emotional weight, diet mentality). He shares his personal story — a years-long late-night snacking habit driven by loneliness and loss of direction that cascaded into poor sleep, sugar-laden coffee, disrupted eating rhythm, and late dinners at TGI Friday’s after Aikido. He connects the behavior to Intuitive Eating’s concept of interoceptive awareness and the disconnection the diet mentality creates.

The Crisis That Broke the Loop

David shares the personal events — the love-of-his-life breakup, a failed rebound relationship, and his mother’s diabetes and colon cancer diagnoses — that forced him to confront his patterns. He introduces Dr. Katy Milkman’s Fresh Start Effect (Management Science) and Dr. Wendy Wood’s structural approach to habit change: disrupting context cues, adding friction, and rewarding new behaviors (Current Directions in Psychological Science, 2024).

The Habit Loop and the Curiosity Cure

Introduction to Dr. Judson Brewer’s habit loop framework (trigger → behavior → reward), why willpower fails under stress, and curiosity as “the bigger, better offer.” Connects Brewer’s approach to Intuitive Eating’s interoceptive awareness and the 5C of Communication.

Men Don’t Purge Emotions — And It’s Killing Them

Features Dr. Ronald Levant’s normative male alexithymia research, including his finding that boys start life more emotionally expressive but are socialized out of it by age six. References David’s interview with Dr. Levant on Episode 126 of the One Small Bite Podcast. Reviews alexithymia as an independent cardiovascular risk factor (Frontiers in Psychology, 2024) and emotional suppression producing cortisol dysregulation comparable to 15 years of aging (American Journal of Men’s Health, 2026).

The Purge Practice — Behavioral, Physical, and Emotional Release

Practical framework including behavioral Purge (environment redesign using Wood’s friction model and Milkman’s temptation bundling), physical Purge (fiber, gut motility, hydration, daily cleansing as self-care), emotional Purge (Check-In, Release, Boundary), and root system integration showing how Purge unlocks Sleep, Eat, Move, and Connect.

The Alimentar Men’s Community

Weekly goals, motivations, and conversations of successes and challenges. Monthly in-person get-togethers including cooking classes, walks, hikes, and challenges. Building IRL community in a digital, disconnected age.

Resources

References

• Wood, W. (2024). Habits, goals, and effective behavior change. Current Directions in Psychological Science. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/09637214241246480
• Dai, H., Milkman, K. L., & Riis, J. (2014). The fresh start effect: Temporal landmarks motivate aspirational behavior. Management Science, 60(10), 2563–2582. https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/10.1287/mnsc.2014.1901
• Brewer, J. A. (2021). Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind. Avery/Penguin. https://sph.brown.edu/news/2021-03-09/anxiety-its-source-brain-based-techniques-accessible-anyone
• Levant, R. F. (1992). Toward the reconstruction of masculinity. Journal of Family Psychology, 5(3-4), 379–402. / Levant, R. F. Normative Male Alexithymia Scale. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232418804_The_Normative_Male_Alexithymia_Scale_Measurement_of_a_Gender-Linked_Syndrome
• Orozco, D. (Host). Episode 126: Dr. Ronald Levant — Normative Male Alexithymia. One Small Bite Podcast. https://orozconutrition.com/podcast/ep126/
• Alexithymia and estimated 10-year cardiovascular disease risk in healthy adults: A community-based cross-sectional study. (2024). Frontiers in Psychology. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1504143/full
• Pu, Y., & Kong, Z. (2026). “Strong enough to suffer”: Emotional suppression, stress exposure, and physiological health among men across the life course. American Journal of Men’s Health. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/15579883261441859
• Tribole, E., & Resch, E. (2020). Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Anti-Diet Approach (4th ed.). St. Martin’s Essentials. https://www.intuitiveeating.org/what-is-intuitive-eating-tribole/
• The impact of toxic masculinity on restrictive emotionality and mental health seeking support. (2025). Personality and Individual Differences. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886925004210
• Milkman, K. L. (2021). How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be. Portfolio/Penguin. https://chibe.upenn.edu/blog/qa-with-dr-katy-milkman-author-of-new-book-how-to-change/