Forget willpower—according to Vancouver-based naturopathic physician Dr. Allana Polo, understanding why we eat is the real key to lasting wellness. In her Amazon #1 bestselling book, The Hunger Code, Dr. Polo breaks down the six types of hunger—from emotional to hormonal—and reveals how self-awareness, not restriction, can transform our relationship with food. As conversations around GLP-1 medications dominate the weight-loss world, Dr. Polo offers a compassionate, science-backed perspective that dives into the mental and emotional side of eating—something diets rarely touch. We sat down with her to talk about decoding hunger, healing through understanding, and why it’s time to stop fighting our appetites and start listening to them. —Noa Nichol
You’ve said most people don’t struggle with willpower—they struggle with understanding why they’re hungry. What moment or realization inspired you to write The Hunger Code?
After 15 years in practice, I realized that most of my patients weren’t failing diets because they lacked willpower- they were trying to ‘control’ their hunger or food intake without ever understanding it. They were trying to adhere to strict rules and guidelines, or diets they heard they “should” try without connecting with what their body needed. The real turning point for me came when I started asking people why they were eating, instead of what they were eating. That question revealed patterns- emotional, habitual, hormonal and schedules- that changed everything for me. The concept behind the hunger code became apparent as I heard the same things from people over and over again. It was so much more than a diet or willpower. It was subconscious. The Hunger Code was born out of those conversations, and my desire to help them get off the yo-yo dieting rollercoaster one last time.
Your book outlines six different types of hunger. Which one do you think surprises people the most—and why do so many of us misread that signal from our bodies?
“Head Hunger” tends to surprise people the most – the hunger driven by time, rules, or fear of getting hungry. We’ve been conditioned to eat by the clock as a cue for ‘hunger’, or follow external rules/ advice from others about when or what we should be eating, that we have lost touch with our internal hunger cues. When they discover that their 12 p.m. “lunchtime hunger” might actually be conditioning – not true hunger – it’s a lightbulb moment.
Head Hunger is the most surprising for people because they don’t necessarily realize they are doing it, but habit and heart are the most common.
GLP-1 medications are changing the conversation around appetite and weight loss. How does The Hunger Code fit into this moment—especially for those looking to understand the emotional and mental side of hunger?
GLP-1 medications have changed the diet industry, and have been life changing for many. They have changed how we think about food, reward and appetite. But medication alone can’t rewrite emotional, learned or habitual hunger. The Hunger code helps people understand why they eat- or what may have contributed to their weight gain. It helps uncover the underlying reasons why they eat – including the emotional, hormonal or habitual drivers and triggers that they might not be aware of. So whether or not they’re using a GLP-1, they can rebuild a healthy, intuitive relationship with food. My hope is to pair science with self-awareness for lasting success.
You describe your approach as compassionate, not prescriptive. Why was it important for you to step away from diet culture and focus instead on awareness and empowerment?
Diet culture perpetuates restriction, stigma, shame, and non-productive outlets I have seen firsthand how damaging that can be, and for many, perpetuates the viscous cycle the guilt, the yo-yoing, and the belief that your worth is tied to your weight. I wanted to create a compassionate framework that helps people become curious instead of critical. Awareness leads to change- punishment never does. Awareness, education and empowerment leads to change. Consistency over perfection. This is the foundation for sustainable change and transformation.
Can you share a patient story (without names, of course) that really illustrates the power of recognizing your “hunger type”?
We live in a culture of constant stimulation—stress, screens, and schedules. How can someone begin to reconnect with “healthy hunger” in the middle of all that noise?
Start by pausing before you eat and asking: “What kind of hunger is this?” Is it physical, emotional, habitual, hormonal? Am I thirsty? Am I hungry? Am I bored? How will I feel after I eat this? Do I need this? Is this a want or a need?
That pause creates awareness. Next, remove some of the noise and distraction – screens at meals, multitasking, eating on the go. Slow down. True hunger builds gradually and is satisfied by real food- emotional or habitual hunger is urgent and often tied to a specific craving, emotion, or association. The more we practice that awareness, the more we reconnect to our body’s wisdom.
You’re a naturopathic physician who’s also deeply interested in psychology. How did you balance science and emotional insight when writing The Hunger Code?
As a naturopathic doctor, I’m deeply grounded in physiology and biology. Things like hormones, metabolism, and metabolic function. But as a clinician with an undergraduate in psychology, I have empathy and compassion for the emotional side of medicine- mind body medicine. It can’t all be physical, it is about connect the dots between physical medicine and emotional medicine. Science is an art, and we are complex human and emotional beings. I wrote the hunger code to bridge both- the biology of hunger with the psychology of eating. Each chapters pairs science with a story- the mechanism, and then how it shows up in real life. That balance makes the work deeply human and relatable. .
As a Vancouver-based practitioner, you see trends in how Canadians eat and live. Have you noticed specific post-pandemic patterns in emotional or stress-related eating?
Absolutely. During and after the pandemic, I saw a surge in Heart and Habit Hunger- people using food for comfort, stress relief, and boredom. The stress, isolation, and uncertainty heightened emotional triggers. Even now, many still operate in a fight or flight state. This presents as high cortisol, poor sleep, fatigue and weight gain. The result is more emotional eating and disrupted hunger cues.
You’ve spent years helping patients navigate weight and hormones. What’s the biggest myth you wish you could bust about hunger, metabolism, or the idea of “willpower”?
The myth that willpower is the key to weight loss. It’s not. That metabolism slows down as we age, and weight loss is as simple as calories in/calories out. These are all myths we’ve been told about weight loss, and they are simply not the case. Hunger isn’t to be feared, it is a signal. It is about how we answer the hunger, what we are eating and why. Real success comes from decoding hunger’s language. The hormones, habits, emotions, gut health and mindfulness that with it instead of fighting it.
If readers take one thing away from The Hunger Code, what do you hope it is?
My hope is to help you get off the rollercoaster. To eat intuitively and understand your body. What it is asking for and what it needs. That your body is not the same as your sisters, your neighbours, or your husbands’ coworkers. And that what has worked for them might not necessarily be what works for you. We are all individuals, and understanding your body is step 1 to breaking this hunger code. When you learn to interpret your ‘ hungers’ you gain control without the need to control. You can eat with awareness, live with freedom, and finally stop battling your body. The goal isn’t to silence hunger- it’s to understand it.
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