How Going Gluten Free Changed Her Life with Addison LaBonte

Sometimes the greatest fuel for transformation isn't finding a new trick; it's simply taking ownership of your own story. When you advocate for yourself, you can turn a health obstacle into a launching pad for a nationwide business. 

Addison LaBonte was a Division I college athlete who experienced chronic leg pain and ultimately was diagnosed compartment syndrome. She was told by her Doctor to live with it or go through year long surgeries. 

Faced with the choice of invasive surgery or quitting running, she turned to an anti-inflammatory and gluten free lifestyle that transformed her health, mindset and eventually career path. Addison LaBonte is the founder of Organically Addison and the successful baked goods company, Sweet Addison’s. 

Follow Addison at --> 

• Organically Addison | ⁠@organicallyaddison⁠
• Sweet Addisons | sweetaddisons.com and ⁠@sweet.addisons⁠

Use code SWEET15 for 15% your first order at Sweet Addisons!

Resources from this podcast can be found at:
https://www.fuelwitherin.com/podcast/v/going-gluten-free-with-addison-labonte

LETS CONNECT:

Website | https://fuelwitherin.com

Instagram | @fuel.with.erin

Youtube | @FuelwithErin

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Disclaimer: The information provided in this podcast and its show notes is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended as medical advice or as a substitute for the advice of a physician or other healthcare professional. Using this information does not create a doctor-patient relationship.

Do not use this information to diagnose or treat any health problem or to prescribe any medication or treatment. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional before making changes to your diet, exercise routine, or medications, or before starting any herbal or nutritional supplements. Statements regarding dietary supplements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. The use of any information provided is solely at your own risk. This disclaimer also applies to any of the guests on the podcast.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

So I transitioned mostly to a paleo-style diet. So nuts, seeds, veggies, and that served me well. I should mention that once I became gluten-free, it was within three days I could run normally again. And it was look, it was honestly life-changing. I mean, my whole career in life right now is based on being gluten-free.

SPEAKER_01 0:26

Hello and welcome to Find Your Fuel, the podcast where we bring you authentic stories from women who've overcome different mental, physical, and emotional struggles and found the fuel to live their best lives. I'm your host, Erin Martin, and today we're going to dive into overcoming and pushing boundaries in both health and business with an amazing guest, Addison Labante, who is the creative force behind Organically Addison and the successful baked goods company Sweet Addisons, which provides delicious, gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free desserts. Her story begins when chronic leg pain led to a life-changing diagnosis where she was told either quit running forever or endure an invasive surgery with a year-long recovery. And so in today's episode, we'll dive into taking a leap of faith, into adopting an anti-inflammatory and gluten-free lifestyle, which ultimately led to a complete transformation of Addison's health, mindset, and eventually career path. Addison is such an inspiration. I loved our conversation, and I'm excited for you to dive into our story today.

SPEAKER_00 1:41

Going back to college, I was a Division I college soccer player at the University of Maine and at the time was eating a very standard American diet. We're talking McDonald's every week, a lot of processed foods, a lot of gluten. And after I graduated, I decided that I wanted to get into long-distance running. And so I started training for a half marathon and noticed as I was running that my legs would start to get like a tingly numbing sensation, almost like your foot is falling asleep. And then if I kept running, my legs would go completely numb. And this was a this was so weird to me because my entire high school, college career had never really had an injury. And then seemingly out of nowhere, I was dealing with this numbness and pain. And so I went to see a sports specialist, doctor, physical therapist, and they both said you have what's called compartment syndrome, which is an inflammation and blood circulation issue. So basically what happens is the muscle fibers that surround the muscles in my legs never expand when I'm working out. So there's nowhere for the muscles that are enlarged and the extra blood flow to go. So the blood flow will get cut off to my legs and they will go numb. And I had actually heard about compartment syndrome because my college soccer coach had it and it's extremely rare. So the fact that he had it and I was used to it in that sense was kind of strange. But my doctor sat me down and said, Well, you have two choices here. You can either quit running altogether forever, or you can get surgery on both of your legs, and each leg will be a six-month recovery time. So you'll be out of working out for a year. And I was kind of dumbfounded. I'm like, I was just a division one athlete. I feel like I'm young and healthy and in shape, and this can't be happening to me.

SPEAKER_01 3:35

Do they know what triggered it? Because with compartment syndrome, I would imagine I played soccer growing up and you were running a ton. So was it a diet change? Was it the distance? Do you know what triggered it or have you always had it then?

SPEAKER_00 3:50

So they said that it's largely because the distance running is so repetitive with no stopping. Whereas soccer, you're stopping and starting, and yes, you're running really far, but you're also putting side to side. So you're using different muscles, but the repetitiveness of distance running is what triggered it. So I I thought the same thing. I was like, I've been running my whole life, I've just never hit these distances before at one time. So that was kind of the diagnosis and what they told me. I was running with, I was training with my aunt at the time, and she's a really great marathon runner. And so she knew that I was dealing with all these symptoms. And after I told her what the doctor said, she told me, you know, you should become gluten-free because I'm gluten-free. And it was for her, it was because of digestive issues, but it was brought on by marathon training. And she said, Maybe you'll feel a difference, you know, you might feel better overall. Maybe it'll help all those headaches that you normally get. And so I was pretty desperate at the time. And so the following Monday, I completely quit gluten, cold turkey. And I remember my first trip to the grocery store. I suddenly was reading every ingredient label and I was horrified at what they put in our food.

SPEAKER_01 5:04

It is crazy.

SPEAKER_00 5:05

It is crazy. So initially I was just checking for gluten if it had wheat in it. And then suddenly I'm noticing all the sugar and all these other ingredients that I don't even know how to pronounce. So it was a huge wake-up call for me.

SPEAKER_01 5:19

Yeah, that's wild. And what did your gluten-free diet out of the gate look like versus what does it look like today? Because I had to could imagine you just cut out all these refined carbs. But if you're training for a marathon or a half marathon, you need carbs. So what did the diet look like for you then?

SPEAKER_00 5:37

So I've always been a big meat eater. Growing up, we always had some sort of meat for dinner. So I found that that wasn't all that difficult. So I in the beginning, I was eating a lot of meat, a lot of fruits, a lot of chocolate, a lot of ice cream, but I was also trying out all of the different gluten-free alternatives. So I bought gluten-free bread and gluten-free bagels and gluten-free muffins. And I specifically remember buying gluten-free brownie mix and gluten-free cookie mix because I've always been a baker. And I was just really unsatisfied with a lot of the gluten-free options out there. So I transitioned mostly to a paleo-style diet. So lots of nut seeds, excuse me, veggies. And that served me well. I should mention that once I became gluten-free, it was within three days I could run normally again. Whoa. And it was look, it was honestly life-changing. I mean, my whole career in life right now is based on being gluten-free. So, but yeah, it was that quick. And I think that was just years of my body just wanting to be gluten-free. And I finally listened to it. And so almost immediately my life changed and I could run again.

SPEAKER_01 6:52

That's wild. And not because of celiac or any other underlying issue you had with gluten, just purely because of the inflammation caused by gluten and it having a bigger impact on the condition that you had.

SPEAKER_00 7:07

Right, exactly. So I've actually never been tested for celiac disease. About a year into being gluten-free, I asked my doctor if I could get tested for it. And I didn't realize that in order to get tested for celiac disease, you have to be actively eating gluten for it to show up on the test.

SPEAKER_01 7:24

Oh, interesting. Makes sense, I guess, though.

SPEAKER_00 7:26

Yeah. Yeah. So my doctor said, just eat gluten once a day for 10 days straight and we'll test you. And I laughed, thinking it was a joke.

SPEAKER_01 7:34

That's not happening.

SPEAKER_00 7:36

And I said, there's no way I'm going to be so sick. And then I thought, I don't really need to know if I have celiac disease because I know that I really can't eat gluten. And since becoming gluten-free, I've had so many different symptoms clear up. It's it's truly changed my life. I mean, I used to get one to two pretty bad headaches per week to the point where I'm taking like three ibuprofen just to feel normal. And now I get maybe one headache a year. It's just, it's crazy. I used to have random foot pain, which is also a sign of celiac disease, which I didn't know about until I did a bunch of research. And it's just, it's completely changed my life.

SPEAKER_01 8:14

That's wild. And to reflect back and compare what you thought was normal and then flipping and turning that page to gluten-free and realizing, wow, this is what life can feel like when I'm fully 100% and not bogged down by all the horrible symptoms that gluten's causing me.

SPEAKER_00 8:32

Right. Yeah. It was a complete 180. I mean, going from eating McDonald's every week to reading every ingredient label. And I think the biggest thing that being gluten-free showed me was to be an advocate for myself and my health. And when I went back to my sports specialist doctor for a checkup, and I told him that I didn't need surgery and I was able to run again normally, and it was just because of becoming gluten-free, he was shocked and didn't believe it and said, gluten-free has nothing to do with compartment syndrome. And so it's just, it's changed my whole view about healthcare and holistic medicine.

SPEAKER_01 9:12

That's so good. I've had similar experiences where I've under-fueled and over-trained and felt this chronic fatigue before and have gone to different doctors. I literally got an EKG at one point and just all of these different things that were brought up to try to figure out what was going on with me not feeling good. And at the end of the day, it's the obvious thing that I could figure out on my own that no other doctor told me you need to eat more good carbs, you need to fuel properly for the activity level that you're doing. And I think that important what you reinforce of being your own advocate is so important. No one is going to care as much as you do about your outcome in life. So you have to stay persistent. Second opinions, all of that I think is so important.

SPEAKER_00 10:04

Yes, absolutely. I could not agree more. And going back to fueling yourself, so once I became gluten-free, I turned instead of processed carbs like breads and muffins and bagels, I then started to go into sweet potatoes and fruit and things like that that wouldn't make me feel weighed down, but still gave me that energy that I needed. So I ate a lot of sweet potatoes in the beginning. I love sweet potato fries. Yeah, me too. So I would do like sweet potato fries with dinner, but I also would do these sweet potato bowls for breakfast. So I would do like a baked sweet potato, and then in the middle, I would drizzle almond butter, I would slice up a banana, do a little bit of granola, and it tasted like I don't even know, like pumpkin.

SPEAKER_01 10:53

Sweet and savory all in one.

SPEAKER_00 10:55

Yeah, it was really, really good. So I got creative in the beginning, but it also made me fall back in love with baking and cooking because it was almost like this new challenge for me. And I'd been a baker my entire life, but suddenly when you can't use all-purpose flour, it's a huge challenge. So I was able to go back through my mom's old recipe books and try to make everything from my childhood in a new, healthier way. And so that was a really fun journey for me.

SPEAKER_01 11:21

Love that. Because now that's brought you to your current career, which is the founder of Sweet Addisons, which would love to hear more about how that started.

SPEAKER_00 11:32

Yes. So in 2021, I moved from Maine to Texas. Um, I just was ready for something new in the middle of COVID. And um after living in Texas for a couple years, my I was working from home and my Instagram account, Organically Addison, which is where I post a bunch of gluten-free recipes, was really growing and growing. And then it was Christmas time of 2022. I did this thing on my Instagram account where I did the 25 days of Christmas cookies. And each day in December of 2022, leading up to Christmas, I posted a different cookie recipe. And it went a little viral. And I started getting all these DMs from people asking where they could buy my cookies or if I sold them or if I would ship them to them. And I was kind of feeling at the time like I wanted to leave corporate America and go all in on being self-employed. And I knew that I wanted to come out with my own brand someday. I didn't really know what that was going to look like. So suddenly, with this cookie series going viral, I had demand for something and I had an audience that was excited and ready to buy for me. And so I spent most of 2023 getting ready to launch Sweet Addison. So recipe testing, finding ingredient suppliers, getting everything set up from a legal standpoint. And then I launched Sweet Addison's in January of 2024, and it has been an absolute whirlwind ever since.

SPEAKER_01 13:04

And I have to say, I bought the cookies because there was the protein cookies out there that I absolutely had to try. I also got the variety pack with a brookie, uh brownie, and I think some caramel chocolate chips, which are amazing. And you guys, I'm not even joking. They are so good. There's a little bit of the almost cookie dough-like texture to it. They are so large and thick and moist and gooey. And the best part is that you do not feel bad after you eat them. My husband has housed like three in a row. I've housed two in a row, which is not necessarily good, but usually we don't eat a ton of sugar. And so when we do have a big cookie, you just feel horrible afterwards. And every time that we eat one of your cookies afterwards, we feel great. Like no problem. So that's got to be the awesome ingredients that are in there, which you tell me they're all gluten-free, dairy-free, refined, sugar-free, grain-free, soy-free, corn-free, seed oil-free.

SPEAKER_00 14:07

I mean, by the way, thank you so much for those kind words. I'm so good. Thank you. I really appreciate that. When I first launched this brand, I'm like, are people gonna like healthy cookies? Like, are cookies supposed to be healthy? But listen, I love dessert. I eat dessert seven nights a week. Like, I cannot even tell you the last time I didn't eat something chocolatey at midnight. I'm so happy with the response from people. Everybody but has been so generous and kind and supportive. And so thank you for saying that.

SPEAKER_01 14:35

Yeah. And I think the kicker with sweets too is that it doesn't have to be this like crazy sugar bomb, which I think you found the middle best part of it. You can have something that has healthy ingredients and still be sweet and meet that kind of sweet tooth type thing. So yes, it's a cookie at the end of the day, but it's not like you're completely ruining your diet or sending your blood sugar levels like sky high.

SPEAKER_00 15:01

Totally. Yeah. And so that's I did that on purpose because I personally don't eat any refined sugar. So I don't eat granulated sugar or brown sugar. I will only do natural alternatives like coconut sugar or date sugar or maple syrup or honey. And what I found as a gluten-free consumer is that a lot of gluten-free products out there are just loaded with added sugars to make them taste more normal.

SPEAKER_01 15:27

Yeah, because otherwise it tastes like cardboard.

SPEAKER_00 15:29

Right, exactly. So I kind of found a gap in the market where what I was specifically looking for hadn't really been done yet, and I couldn't find it out there, which is a gluten-free, dairy-free, refined, sugar-free dessert that tastes like dessert. Um, so kind of marrying my two passions of dessert and health and wellness. And that's kind of the brand story behind Sweet Addison's. But um, using so we only use organic coconut sugar. So on the glycemic index, it's about 50% lower. So it's not gonna spike your blood sugar like dessert would. So you're not gonna eat this and like wanna be in a food coma after or take a nap after. Um, so yeah, that was that was very intentional on my part. And the early days, just before I launched Sweet Addisons, it was really fun to do all the recipe testing and hand select every single ingredient that went into these cookies.

SPEAKER_01 16:24

And when you say dairy free, are you dairy-free right now as well?

SPEAKER_00 16:28

I'm not. I'm very light dairy though. I only eat full-fat Greek yogurt and cottage cheese as my dairy. I do a little bit of butter sometimes. I will say butter or ghee, but I find that not eating a ton of dairy, I feel my best. Back when I was marathon training for the first time, I was dairy-free also, but wanted to start getting in a little bit more protein. So I added in the cottage cheese and Greek yogurt.

SPEAKER_01 16:54

Yeah. And what was that process like for you then to test what worked for your body or not? Gluten-free, it sounds like you just went cold turkey. Did you do that with dairy as well?

SPEAKER_00 17:02

Dairy, I kind of weaned off of dairy a little bit. And then once I was fully dairy-free, I was a little bit scared to introduce it back into my diet. So I started very small. I would do like one of those mini yogurts per day and realized that I still felt great. If I had had any sort of reaction, I would have continued to be dairy-free, but I actually felt great with the added protein. And so added that back in. But again, I don't eat a ton of dairy right now. So I do love the I will make a yogurt and cottage cheese bowl and I'll add in protein powder, and I'm getting like 50 grams of protein at once. So right now, as I'm actually training for my first ultra marathon right now, so I need all the protein that I can get.

SPEAKER_01 17:47

Oh, congrats! What's the mileage?

SPEAKER_00 17:50

It's a 50K, so it's 31 miles. Um, I've done two marathons and two half marathons, but this will be, you know, an extra five miles, and we'll see how it goes. But I'm just excited to take on a new challenge. I love that.

SPEAKER_01 18:06

I just did my first 50k a few months ago as well. And the fueling piece of it is literally no joke. There is so much that goes into powering your body when you're doing something like that. My brain could get around it, but didn't totally conceptualize what that means in terms of protein and calories and nutrient timing and all of that. So I don't know if you've learned a ton throughout the process, but it's kind of a wild ride.

SPEAKER_00 18:33

Yes. Okay, I want to hear all about your experience, but I will say that I have been surprised by the amount of protein that I really need. And I think compared to the average distance runner, I probably need fewer carbs and more protein. Interesting. Yeah. I've just always been a protein lover, and that's how I really feel my best. So right now I try to get at least 125 grams of protein a day. And then if I can get more than that, even better. I drink a ton of water. Um, but I would love to hear, okay, so which race did you do? How did it go? Tell me everything.

SPEAKER_01 19:09

Yeah. And I think that's real quick what you mentioned about just your own personal body and needs. That's also so critical because you could have 10 women running a 50K and you're all gonna have different nutrient needs, different timing of the nutrient needs. Like you can't just take someone's playbook and apply it to yourself and think it's gonna work, which where being your own advocate really comes into play. And I did the 50K I did was here in Colorado, in Colorado Springs. It was just a community kind of local 50K. So signed up. I had paced my husband in a long ultra race. I had paced him 27 miles. And so I just signed up last minute because I was like, I am in shape for a 50K. It is four more miles. I think I can walk the extra four miles if I need to. It was a sign up and figure it out later type situation. But it was an amazing race for me, and I attributed that to getting the carbs that my body needs to properly fuel, which I where I've always fallen short. I've just naturally tried to eat whole foods throughout my life. And I think as part of that, I've cut out a lot of good carbs. I haven't incorporated sweet potatoes as much as I should, or quinoa, or all those things. So I think folding in more of those natural, really good carbs helped me a ton. And then I drank a ton of coconut water to really top off the carbs the day before and made my own protein and oatmeal cookies to help get there.

SPEAKER_00 20:42

I love it. And and how did the race go?

SPEAKER_01 20:44

It was good. I think I finished. I'm trying to remember my time. I finished faster than I thought I would. I remember that. I think it was like seven hours and then lots of gain. I forget how much thousands of feet of gain it was, but it was on a trail, which was awesome. And I think that's my favorite part is I wasn't going for pace. It's not a marathon or a half marathon where you're competing for pace and time. You're just out there to finish and have fun and enjoy the day. And so I didn't even look at my watch. I was just like, we're not gonna look at the mileage. I know I'm gonna be running till this afternoon. Let's just show up and have fun, and I will cross the finish line at some point.

SPEAKER_00 21:22

That's awesome. Good for you. Congratulations. That's a that's a really big accomplishment.

SPEAKER_01 21:27

Thanks. When's yours coming up? Which one are you doing?

SPEAKER_00 21:30

I'm doing Dallas. Live in Dallas, so it's super easy. It's in early December, and I'm super excited. It will be a lot less hilly than yours and lower altitude. So hopefully all goes well. But I'm just really excited. Uh, I have a lot of friends that will be there and really feel the whole energy of the city. So I'm honestly I'm not scared. I'm not nervous. I'm just really excited to take on this new challenge. I think that just Like you said, I mean I've done two marathons, so I've gone the 26.2 miles. If I have to walk the five, I just told someone, I'm like, if I have to crawl across that finish line, I will. I will be next race. Yes, yes. I will get there somehow, somehow. I'm determined. But I'm I'm really excited for it. And I think just my background of being a D1 college athlete, like it's wired in me that I always want to be working on something and pushing myself. So this is this is the next challenge for me. I love that. You're gonna do great. Thank you. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01 22:32

And circling back to being a D1 athlete, we kind of gloss over this quickly, but that is a wild thing that happens to many people, whether it's being a D1 athlete or doing something your whole life, like soccer, and then trying to figure out what's next. I mean, what did that feel like for you on your end?

SPEAKER_00 22:50

That was probably the hardest transition of my life because soccer was such a huge part of my everyday life for the first 22 years of my life. I mean, it was not only what I did every day, but it was also how I stayed in shape. It was how I made my friends, it was my competitive outlet, my creative outlet. It was so many things to me. And when that just gets taken away from you, it was very difficult for me to transition back to normal life. I would say that soccer season is in the fall in college. And so when soccer ended, I was devastated, but I still had my teammates there. Then we would hang out and spend time together, and I was still in college. I think the hardest transition for me was when I graduated college because then soccer was gone, but also my teammates all went back home and I moved back home and suddenly I'm not Addison the soccer player, I'm just Addison. And it took a lot of work for me to realize that my worth didn't come from my accomplishments. And it was a really hard transition. And actually, something I'm really passionate about and would love to do someday. And I don't know what this exactly looks like, but is to help graduating college athletes transition into the real world because again, I struggled and I want to help others who are going through that same transition. So I think that was a big reason that I went straight into distance running was I wanted to stay in really good shape. I'm such a competitive person and I always want to be becoming the best version of myself. So I thought, let's run a half marathon, then let's run a marathon and let's stay in shape that way and get that competitiveness out of me somehow. So it was a really hard transition though. It was, it was very tough for me.

SPEAKER_01 24:43

It's your whole identity that you're rethinking of yes, the value that you're adding to the world now. How do you define the value? And it's not you being a soccer player.

SPEAKER_00 24:54

Right, exactly, which was really hard. And I'm so thankful that when I graduated from college and was living back home with my parents, I was able to start going to our home church more and really found my identity again there. And my faith is super, super important to me. So I'm thankful that I did find that identity and something that's eternal and not something that's fleeting like soccer, but would never trade my soccer experience for anything. I mean, those four years were the time of my life, and there's no way that I would have moved across the country by myself or started my own brand by myself if it weren't for all of the lessons that I learned being a college soccer player.

SPEAKER_01 25:34

I love that. And putting you on the journey that you are today as your own business owner, and that in and of itself is a wild ride. Like, talk me through that process of starting the company. I mean, you must have been scared, excited, all of the things all wrapped into one. What was that like?

SPEAKER_00 25:53

There were a lot of emotions as I was starting to launch Sweet Addisons, and I really had no idea what to expect. But the past, it's been almost 18 months or so now, have been a roller coaster of emotions. I would say 90% of it is amazing. It's incredibly fulfilling and rewarding. And it's introduced me to some of my best friends now, which is kind of crazy to think about. But back in those early days, I mean, there's it's easy to have a lot of self-doubt. You know, I don't know what I'm doing. Why am I doing this? Why was I a math major in college just to, you know, leave corporate America and start a cookie business? None of my friends are doing this, but I've always kind of been someone to just step out and do things on my own and not really care what other people think about it or are doing. So I uh I launched Sweet Addison's and I think the past year and a half have showed me so much about myself. I would not trade this for anything. It has made me the toughest, strongest version of myself for sure, the most confident, self-assured. And it's truly changed who I am as a person, and I'm so incredibly thankful for that. But it's not all rainbows and butterflies. It is an extremely challenging thing to start and grow a business. So I would, I mean, I would encourage anyone out there who has a dream that they want to pursue to go for it because I always tell myself life is so short. And someday I'm going to be on my deathbed looking back on my life. And I want to be really proud of the things that I did and the person that I was. And if I let this dream die with me, I don't think I could be proud of that.

SPEAKER_01 27:37

I love that. And I think we could all take a page out of your book in that we're not worried about what other people think. If you just chased your dreams without being worried, that I think so much is what holds people back of well, what will someone think about this? What if I fail and I look stupid? Like that is an underlying feeling that drives a lot of people's actions. And when you can remove that, there's really a lot of possibilities in the world.

SPEAKER_00 28:06

Yes, absolutely. I think a big thing for me is always choosing to be courageous because there's always going to be fear there. In fact, if you if there's no fear in your life, you're not doing anything with your life, respectfully. But choosing to be courageous instead of listening to your fear, everything that special that I've ever done in my life has been because I've been courageous and I've chosen to do the hard thing over the comfortable thing. I mean, being a division one athlete, I could have just gone to college and and not done that. And it would have been a lot easier, more comfortable, but I wouldn't be the person that I am today, and I wouldn't have the stories to tell that I can tell. So just life is so short. We only get one shot at this. Like, please don't let it go to waste.

SPEAKER_01 28:49

Oh, I love that. And what else do you have on the horizons for you then? You've got your 50K. What else do you have going on with the company, initiatives-wise?

SPEAKER_00 29:00

So, company-wise, we are launching a few new flavors the rest of this year, which I'm super excited about. There may be another protein dessert coming along.

SPEAKER_01 29:09

Excellent. I'll be first in line.

SPEAKER_00 29:11

Yeah, so it's just been highly requested, and I'm super excited about the next protein dessert that we're doing. And then just continuing to build out the team and build out our customer base and serving our customers. I really want to make Sweet Addisons more readily readily available for people through retailers and wholesalers and just continue to lead the team. It's like I said, incredibly rewarding. And I absolutely love my team at work. They do amazing, amazing work. And personally, I think I might get hooked after this first 50K. I think someday that I will also train for a 50-mile race. And I would also love to do a half and a full Iron Man someday. So I just want to, honestly, I just want to continue to push myself and do things that might seem big and scary, but overcome them and really become the best version of who I am. So those are always my goals.

SPEAKER_01 30:05

Love that. And loved continuing to push the needle because if you can do a 50K, you're close to the 50 miler, and then that's how it just creeps in creeps up.

SPEAKER_00 30:15

Right, exactly. So yeah, I I I absolutely love to run, which is funny because in college running was always a punishment, and I did not love it.

SPEAKER_01 30:24

All soccer players ever. Like chasing a ball and actually a game cool, otherwise not cool.

SPEAKER_00 30:30

Right. Yeah. Every time get on the line again, again, I'm like, oh, I hate running. And then afterwards, I ran my first half in full marathon, and my some of my teammates were like shocked because I was never the runner of the group. But I just I love being outside more than anything and just getting out in the fresh air and being able to push myself. It's also the best time to think. My I get my best ideas when I'm just out running. And I just I absolutely love being outside and running. So yeah, I'm excited. Excited to take on all these new challenges and continue to grow the business.

SPEAKER_01 31:07

Awesome. And yeah, similarly, I love being outside and specifically trail running for that purpose. There's no mission in mind outside of just enjoy yourself on the trail. When there's elevation and decline of vertical, then you can walk, you could jog, you could run. It's no pressure except just be outside and enjoy being in nature with the sun. And that's where my best ideas, where I process problems, where I'll solve something unexpectedly. Like I always have to have my phone with me so that I can write down all these little notes to capture that are coming through my brain. So I always love having my phone handy for that reason. So I can capture all those things. It's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 31:53

Yeah, that's running is truly the best. It's such a great metaphor for life.

SPEAKER_01 31:58

Awesome. Well, Addison, thank you so much for taking the time for coming on today. Where can people find you?

SPEAKER_00 32:04

People can find me. I am organicallyaddison on Instagram. And then the cookie business is at SweetAddisons, and you can order online for nationwide shipping, sweetadisons.com. If they want to get a little discount on their first order, use code SWET15 for 15% off their first order.

SPEAKER_01 32:26

Amazing. Well, thanks again for coming on. I am going to be using that code for the protein cookies and for the one that is coming out. So thank you so much again.

SPEAKER_00 32:36

Thank you for having me. This is wonderful.

SPEAKER_01 32:39

Thanks for listening to another episode of Find Your Fuel. I'd love to hear your thoughts on how this story resonated with you and anything else you'd like to hear more of in the future. And if you want to support us, please write a review. It's super helpful in getting new people to discover the show and help other women find the fuel to live their best lives.