Eat with Dominique

Doctors Told Her to Quit Running or Get Surgery… She Didn’t Accept That | Addison LaBonte (Sweet Addison's)

• Dom • Season 1 • Episode 11

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0:00 | 43:20

What would you do if doctors told you your only options were to quit the sport you love or undergo surgery?

That was the reality for Addison LaBonte, a Division I athlete turned marathon runner, when she began experiencing serious symptoms during training.

Rather than accepting that outcome, she began exploring what was really happening in her body—leading her to rethink food, performance, and long-term health.

In this episode of Eat with Dominique, we discuss her journey from diagnosis to discovery, and how it changed everything.

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SPEAKER_00

After 20, 30 minutes into each run, my legs would start to lose feeling. I went to a few different doctors. Basically, the doctor said you can either quit running forever or you can get a surgery on each of your legs.

SPEAKER_03

Hi everyone, I'm Dominique, and welcome to Eat with Dominique, a podcast for women with food sensitivities, IBS, and other gut challenges who want to eat confidently and pain-free. What would you do if doctors told you your only option were to quit the sport you love or have surgery? That was the reality for Addison Levante, a divisional athlete and American winner who suddenly found herself at a breaking point with her body. But what can next raise much bigger questions? What was actually going on inside her body? And what did food have to do with it? Don't forget to like and subscribe to the Eat with Dominic podcast for more conversations like this. I can't wait for you to hear this. So without further ado, grab a seat and let's eat with Dominique. So, Addison, I first discovered Sweet Addison's when you were named to the Inc. magazine 2026 Female Founders 500. Um, and I saw you made gluten-free treats, and I was like, this is amazing. I went on the website. I don't think I've ever used the word mouthwatering, but like they genuinely like cookies with cookies. I was like, these are literally mouthwatering. Um, but the interesting thing is what stood out to me the most actually was your story, right? Um, so I guess could you take me back and what was going on in your life and your health eight years ago that inspired you to start on this sweet Addison's journey?

SPEAKER_00

Yes. Well, thank you so much for having me on. I'm truly honored. So when I graduated from college, I was a Division I college soccer player and knew that I wanted to run a marathon. I wanted to challenge myself and compete for something again and train for something again. So I started doing all these long training runs, and I noticed that after 20, 30 minutes into each run, my legs would start to lose feeling. So it would start in my feet and in my lower legs, and it would kind of feel like a tingly sensation, like your foot is falling asleep. And then as I would keep running, it would work its way up my legs. And if I didn't stop running, the numbness would completely take over. So I went to a few different doctors and they all diagnosed me with something called compartment syndrome. So compartment syndrome, compartment syndrome is a blood circulation issue caused by excess inflammation. And for me, it had only happened when I started distance running. I had never previously had an injury. So I was very confused. And basically the doctor said you can either quit running forever or you can get a surgery on each of your legs to solve this issue. And I had never gotten surgery before, and I just wanted to be able to run. I did not understand what was going on. So I completely overhauled my diet and I became gluten-free. And within three days, I could run normally again. Wow. That's crazy. Yeah, it was a life-changing switch for me. But I kind of went from one extreme of eating fast food all the time and eating whatever I wanted and feeling like, oh, I was a division one athlete. I can eat whatever. And then I started reading every nutrition label to make sure that I wasn't eating gluten. And I was shocked at the foods that I had been eating. So I really fell in love with health and wellness and clean ingredients. And not only that, but for the first time in my life, I knew what it felt like to feel healthy and to not feel weighed down or tired every afternoon or have restless sleep and my skin cleared up. I could run faster. Like so many symptoms had gone away. So I really delved into health and wellness. But that is that is the moment that kind of everything changed.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. I mean, you said a lot of great things there. Something I think is particularly interesting is like that idea of having been an athlete. And I feel like I experienced this too, like coming from high school where you kind of can just eat whatever you want because you're like, oh, well, like I run all the time, I do this and that. And I guess if you don't have like physical um or like outward um kind of ramifications of doing that, you're like, oh, like I'm fine. But it's like you said this low-level inflammation, I'm sure that just continues to build up. And then yeah, I feel like it causes a lot more problems than people realize.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, definitely. And I now looking back, I didn't realize how sick I was until I wasn't sick anymore. So growing up, I would get one to two pretty bad headaches every single week of my life. And I could always pinpoint it back to something or justify it with something. So in high school and college, it was always, oh, I'm working so hard, I'm exhausted, my body's exhausted, or I'm working out like crazy. Maybe I didn't eat enough protein today, and that's why I have a headache, or maybe I'm dehydrated and that's why I have a headache, or maybe I didn't sleep well. But now I get like maybe one to two headaches a year.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

So it's a completely different ball game. And again, I thought the way that I was living was normal, and that's just how I was meant to feel my whole life. But once all those symptoms went away, it was just a night and day difference and how I felt every day.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. And I feel like particularly for women, I feel like we're told to kind of live with a lot of these symptoms, or like you said, like, oh, like you feel bad all the time, but it's it's fine. Like you just, that's just what happens. Um, was there something for you that made you realize, like, okay, like I the way that the doctors are saying this is normal, basically, like this is not normal. I need to advocate for myself.

SPEAKER_00

I I was stubborn and I just knew that there had to be a better way. I was definitely not going to get surgery, and I was definitely not going to quit running. So when the doctor said that to me, my first instinct was, I'm just gonna run through the numbness. I don't care if I'm doing long-term damage. Again, I was I was 22 at the time. Um, so I was like, oh, whatever, like who actually cares? I'll just keep running through it. And it was actually my aunt who I was training with. Um, she's a really great marathon runner and she's gluten-free. And she was the only person that I really knew who was gluten-free. And she became gluten-free because it helped with her training as well. She does not have compartment syndrome, but just feeling better overall as she was doing all these crazy long runs. So she was the one who actually suggested that I try it out. And I was pretty skeptical at first, not thinking that what I was eating was making my legs numb. But again, within three days, I could run normally again. So I owe her like the biggest thank you ever.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, yeah. No, that's amazing. Um, was there something? I guess once you went gluten-free and you're like, okay, this works. Was there something that made you then say, now what can I look at holistically for like my entire health and wellness? Like you said, to make those even bigger changes.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, definitely. It changed my whole perspective on medicine in general. And I realized that I could solve a lot of the issues that I was having in a natural and holistic way. So now I don't, I don't consume any medicine at all. So, like the one to two times a year that I do get a headache, I I don't take any medicine. So I I like my body to just fight things off. And even when I get sick, which that's another thing, is I'll get sick like I don't know, three to four times a year, just like the average person would. And then once I became gluten-free, I like maybe get sick once a year, maybe if that. Um, the last two years of having my business, that two and a half years of having my business, I've gotten sick one time. So I really believe in treating our bodies well, and our bodies will treat us well in return. So becoming gluten-free and going through that whole experience completely shifted my way of thinking when it comes to medicine.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. And it sounds like it's changed your life overall, like for the better.

SPEAKER_00

It has completely changed my life. I mean, when I graduated from college, I was eating McDonald's at least once a week. I was eating a ton of added sugar, and I've always had a big sweet tooth. And I was running like three to four miles at a time, getting headaches every week, and thinking that that was normal. Fast forward to today, I am very, I have very high expectations about the types of foods that I eat. So I don't eat any gluten, I don't eat any refined sugar, I don't drink alcohol anymore, um, I don't consume any sort of caffeine, and I'm running like 10 miles a day, and I feel great. I'm sleeping well, my skin is very clear now. It's it just it has completely changed my life.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, that's amazing. 10 miles a day. I I I do like to run. I don't 10 miles a day, I don't know if I could do, but 10 miles, I'm I'm very impressed.

SPEAKER_00

Thank you. Yeah, I actually uh I really fell in love with running after college. And I feel like because I was a college athlete, I've always been super passionate about what I'm doing, and I needed that outlet. And thankfully for me, it was distance running, and I've really found a good thing there. And it's it's my time to just step outside and you don't have to think about anything related to work or stress, and it's just a great chance to get out and move my body and push myself as well.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, that's amazing. Yeah, I feel like there's nothing better than I think this is actually like the slogan of New Balance, but there's nothing better than running. I remember ran like a 10K, and I think it said that on the shirt, but like I'm like, it really is nothing better. It definitely clears your head and everything like that.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, I agree. I love it. Highly recommend to anyone. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Um, were there any uh of course, like your legs, being able to feel them while you were running was huge. Were there any other um, I guess, benefits that you noticed immediately when you stopped having gluten?

SPEAKER_00

The headaches was a big thing for me. And that wasn't something that I was necessarily expecting to go away because this had happened my whole life, and I just thought that that was the way my body functioned. So the headaches was a really big uh unexpected blessing, I'll call it, of becoming gluten-free. And then the other biggest thing, and this is maybe TMI, but I used to sweat excessively, even when I was in class, even when I wasn't moving around, I could just be sitting in class, taking notes, and just be excessively sweating. And again, I thought that was normal. And I learned actually after becoming gluten-free that excessive sweating is a big symptom of celiac disease. And my thinking for me, this is just me diagnosing myself here, is my body was having to work so hard to digest the gluten that I was eating every day. So that's why I was sweating. My body was just having to go into overdrive trying to process all these things that I should not have been eating. So I also like I barely sweat now, like at all. I could be out for like a 20-mile run and barely sweating. Um, but that's just another thing. Like I don't think I'm naturally an excessive sweater. I think it was just because of all the gluten that I had been consuming. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. Wow, that's crazy. I mean, it really is. I mean, I know we already said it, but it really is crazy how like life-changing and how many big changes just those like small shifts can, although they're kind of big, but they seem small, those small shifts can make for us. Yes, absolutely. Right. Yeah. Um, so when you first started sharing this story, when you had this transformation, you were sharing it on your blog, Organically Addison, what were people resonating with the most? And maybe what surprised you about that?

SPEAKER_00

I was surprised at how quickly I gained traction with my audience. Uh, the thing that people mostly leaned into was the healthy baking. So as soon as I became gluten-free, I remember going through my mom's old cookbooks and trying to make the recipes that I grew up baking with her in a gluten-free way. And the way I can describe that was most things came out like a science experiment. It was a lot of trial and error. And if you've never baked with gluten-free flour before, it's definitely different than wheat flour. They make some really good gluten-free blends nowadays. I think it's a lot easier. But years ago, it was not quite as easy. So the healthy baking, the gluten-free baking really resonate with people because it's not easy to do.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_00

And having a sweet tooth myself, like I just get so excited to share dessert recipes. So that kind of has become my niche on my organically addison blog and Instagram and TikTok accounts because it resonates with people. People are looking for that. And who doesn't love dessert, right?

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. And you're right. I feel that is the hardest thing to like replicate. And also, like something that I think is so cool about Sweet Addisons is like you're not using refined sugar, which I think is also really difficult when you're baking and like a um, or even if you're trying to get a good from a store or something like that, you still might have to have that trade-off. So I think that's a really cool thing you're doing too.

SPEAKER_00

Thank you. Yes. So I stopped eating refined sugar a few years ago, and it was just because I did a bunch of research and listened to a bunch of podcasts about added sugar and how detrimental it can be to our health. And so I set out a goal to cut out refined sugar, and because I had already become gluten-free, I knew what it was like to read ingredient labels, and it's actually easier than I was expecting. And it's been, I think, three or so years now without refined sugar. So when I started Sweet Addison's two years ago, I knew that I absolutely did not want to use cane sugar, brown sugar, any sort of sugar alcohols. So we only use organic coconut sugar in all of our products. And not only is, in my opinion, it taste a lot better than white sugar, but it's also 50% lower on the glycemic index.

SPEAKER_02

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_00

So yeah, when I first became gluten-free, I noticed through reading ingredient labels that a lot of gluten-free products are just loaded with sugar to make them taste normal.

SPEAKER_03

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00

Yes. And I was eating so much sugar. And so becoming refined, sugar-free, baking all this stuff at home, I knew that I wanted to launch a brand that kind of merged healthy with delicious. Because I feel like up until that point you could have one or the other, but there were really no brands on the market that were doing both really well. So that that was the catalyst for launching Sweet Addison, and it's been a journey ever since.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. And I think it's also really cool because you're not even just doing like um kind of like the basic thing, okay. Like here's maybe just one cookie, one skew. I feel like you have so many, like the brookie when I saw the brookie, I was like, I love rookie, but I already couldn't, I haven't had them in years because I was I feel like I they just didn't love me, basically. So I was like, that's unfortunate. But then I saw you guys have them. I'm like, oh, that's amazing.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, the brookie is a is a bestseller of ours. I think it's just a really fun dessert, and it's something another dessert that you really just can't find on the market, like nobody's selling them. So I wanted to do something fun for my customers. This is probably a year and a half ago now. And so I said, you know, we're gonna launch these for just a month and see how it goes. And like instant everybody loved them. So they're still on our menu today.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

And it's been that's the best part of my job is testing out new flavors and ideas and being able to provide my customers and audience with something that they really enjoy that a lot of us who have food allergies have just been missing out on for years.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, no, that's very true. Did you notice um any shifts when you stop when you cut out refined sugar for yourself?

SPEAKER_00

Yes, it helped with my skin even more and it helped me with my sleep. Um, I didn't even realize how much added sugar that I was consuming. And now I fall asleep in like two seconds. It's also from being a business owner. I'm just exhausted all the time.

SPEAKER_03

Business owner 10 miles a day, like that'll do it to you.

SPEAKER_00

Right. I will say now that I don't eat refined sugar, I feel like my joints feel a lot better when I run. So I don't know. There might be something to that. I'm I'm definitely not a doctor, but I really don't believe that added sugar and processed sugars are doing anything for anybody.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, I mean, that does that does make sense because I actually was talking to like a physical therapist and she was saying that like any kind of like inflammatory food, which I guess sugar would be included in that, can cause like your joints to like swell actually. Like is it so it can cause you, like if you're running and their your legs are feeling more tight, sometimes it can be because there's more inflammation caused by your diet, which so that could definitely be the case.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, it's it's crazy how much what we eat really affects us day to day. And I've I've learned that the hard way. Uh, and that's why I'm so committed now to the foods that I eat, because I just I know what it's like to feel amazing every single day. And that's truly how I want to live my life.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. Quick interruption because what's really powerful is that Addison didn't just go through this, she built something from it. That's Sweet Addison. And if you want to try it, you can use code Dominique10ALCAT for 10% off at sweetaddisons.com slash discount slash dominic10 or link in the show notes. Okay, now back to the show. No, yeah, I mean, I really, I feel like I really relate to your story because I've had like food an allergy and have had like some gut issues. Um, I guess what was that moment like for you when you made that realization? Like when you were like, wait, food really like impacts like everything across the board.

SPEAKER_00

It was honestly that first week of becoming gluten-free. I feel like my body for the first time could just like take a deep breath and relax. And seeing what an immediate transformation it had on me, I for the first time ever put two and two together of what I'm eating is really affecting how I'm feeling day to day, and not only how I'm feeling, but how I'm performing and how I'm able to exercise. And now I'm not tired all the time. So it just really affected so many different facets of my life. And so it was a it was a big epiphany for me.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, yeah, wow. Um, I guess at what point did you kind of make that shift from okay, this is like organically addison, I'm doing the blog, and like, wait, maybe I should like offer this to people, like in through sweet addicts.

SPEAKER_00

So in December of 2022, I did a holiday baking series. I I called it the 25 Days of Christmas cookies. And each day in December leading up to Christmas that year, I posted a different cookie recipe. So I came up with 25 different recipes. Wow. Posted the recipe videos on my Instagram account, and it went viral. And that was the first time where I really started getting a lot of DMs from people asking where they could buy these cookies that I was baking.

SPEAKER_02

Okay.

SPEAKER_00

So I mean, I'm talking, people were saying, I'll pay you if you ship these across the country to me. And I was like, that's a very interesting concept. Yeah. And living in Texas, but my family's in Maine where I grew up, I was traveling back and forth a lot. And every time I would travel, I would bake a batch of cookies and bring it with me. And one day in the airport, I got stopped going through TSA, and they're like, why do you have all of these cookies with you? And I, you know, why are you carrying this many desserts on you? And I said, because I can't find these anywhere else. And then I was like, wait a second, I have demand for something. Personally, I see a big gap in this market, and it just hit me in that moment like, if I have an audience for something, if I have a really big personal need for this and it literally does not exist on the market, why wouldn't I launch a brand?

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_00

So I spent most of 2023 getting ready to launch. I mean, I knew absolutely nothing about this industry. So I was connecting with people on LinkedIn and asking so many questions about people who work in consumer packaged goods and the baking worlds and learned as much as I could. And then we launched in January of 2024.

SPEAKER_03

Wow. That's crazy. Did you ever like imagine you'd be like an entrepreneur, like starting your own business?

SPEAKER_00

Never in a million years. I was a math major in college, and both my parents worked in finance. So I always thought that I would also go into finance. And I remember saying when I was in college, I just want to work in a cubicle for 40 years. I just want to work, work in a cubicle, mind my own business, and you know, maybe work my way up to the CFO of a company. And that was always my goal. So the fact that I'm an entrepreneur for a baking company. And I live in Texas, like none of this was on my bingo card. Um, but thankfully God has a better plan for my life than I did.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, no, that's amazing. That's amazing, very inspiring. Um I yeah. Um, what was it like in that moment when you, like you said, people were DMing you and you all of that? And what was that moment like when you realized this is connecting for people in a way that's bigger than your own like personal story?

SPEAKER_00

I was very humbled and honored that people would want me to ship them desserts across the country. I was also a little bit confused about if this was actually a viable option or not, but I realized that there was a need out there for people, especially those of us who have food allergies, that their needs weren't being met based on the brands that were on the market and they were looking for something different or better. And so, pretty early on, I shift my perspective from I want to do this, I need this, to my customers need this, and this isn't about me. This is about how do I build the best brand so that other people can get enjoyment out of these desserts. And I say, as an entrepreneur, that was like a really big mental shift for me. It was a really good thing because in the beginning, it was so many hours every week of working on this, and I always just kept thinking back to the customers. If I was building this for myself, I would have been burnt out way long ago because it was like a hundred hours a week for two years straight. And I was so beyond exhausted all the time, but I just always at the end of every day thought these are bringing people joy. This is not about me. I'm serving other people through starting this, and this is my calling, this is my passion. Yes, I'm exhausted, but this is not about me. This is about other people.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, no, that's great. I mean, I really just saw something the other day, and it was kind of getting out what you're saying, which is like basically when you were pursuing a dream or a goal, like you said, and it's like this big dream, maybe it's different than what you thought, but it's like if you remember that it's for other people and like how can you best serve them? Like you're not serving yourself, you're serving others, especially like you said, if you have a dream, like God puts this dream in you and you know, like you should go for it, like, but not focusing on yourself, focusing on how you can most help people. I think that's um exactly like what you're saying.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, it was it was really I'm proud of myself for having that perspective. And I'm glad that I have a product-based, consumer-facing brand where I do get that feedback from customers literally every day saying how much they love the desserts. So it's been extremely rewarding in that sense.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, that's amazing. Um, when you were first like developing the different recipes for sweet addicts, what was that like trial and error process like? And I guess how difficult was it to make sure the gluten-free actually, like we said, didn't taste gluten-free?

SPEAKER_00

It was a lot of trial and error. It took me about three months to come up with the chocolate chip cookie recipe, which is one when we launched, we I say we when I launched this, it was just one flavor, and it was the chalk chip cookie. It took me 26 recipe variations to get that right.

SPEAKER_02

Wow.

SPEAKER_00

And by that time, I'd been baking gluten-free and refined sugar-free for years. So I had a pretty good sense of what I was doing, but a lot of it came down to what ingredients I wanted to use. So immediately I knew that I wanted to use almond flour because it is made from one ingredient, almonds, and it is naturally higher in protein than all other flours. So I thought, okay, so if I'm going to use almond flour, do I need a little bit of coconut flour in there to balance it out? Do I need a little bit of arrowroot powder or some other starch to hold the cookies together? And then the biggest thing was the sugar. So I played around with coconut sugar at first because that's my favorite. But then I also tried some recipes that had maple syrup and honey. And I tried date sugar, I tried maple sugar, which maple sugar is delicious.

SPEAKER_03

I never heard of it before.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. So it's basically like granulated sugar, but it's made from maple and it's from maple trees, and it's an amazing flavor, but it does taste a little bit too maple-y for the average person. So, but I tried all those different ingredients and finally came up with what we still use today for our for most of our uh products is the almond flour and the organic coconut sugar.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. Was there like a like, because you like you said, you've been baking gluten-free for a while before you started Sweet Addisons, but was there like a gear shift in your mind to be like, okay, these recipes I was doing for like the for the blog, but now I'm like, okay, this is for like the CPG for that kind of thing. And I guess to also make it like shelf-stable, I guess, too. Like, was there like a shift in that perspective?

SPEAKER_00

Yes. I viewed the Sweet Addisons cookie as something that was completely different from anything that I had currently had on my blog. I shouldn't say completely different, but I wanted it to be, I wanted the ingredients to be the highest quality possible because that's what the customers deserve, and that's the brand ethos that I wanted to launch with. So in some of my recipes, just on organically addison, I would use butter. And not that there's anything wrong with butter, but I knew from day one that I wanted to also have a dairy-free brand. So butter was then out of the question. Uh, even dairy-free butters typically aren't made with super clean ingredients. So I didn't, I didn't pursue that. And I just always viewed Sweet Addison's as its own entity. And that's and it has been its own entity since day one. It's been its own product, its own recipes. Uh, there's nothing quite too similar to it on organically addison, but they both have the healthy baking thing in common.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. Yeah. And was there something that spurred you to be like, okay, I want this to be dairy free as well?

SPEAKER_00

Yes. So a lot of the people who follow me are also dairy free. I know that dairy is a very common allergy in America, as is gluten. And I wanted as many people to be able to enjoy these as possible. So I knew a lot of people also who have gluten who are gluten-free are also dairy-free, and vice versa. So I wanted them to be able to eat the products. So kind of from day one, it was a non-negotiable. These will definitely be gluten-free, and I really want them to be dairy-free. And the recipe that I came up with for the chocolate chip cookies was gluten-free and dairy-free. And it was the favorite one out of the 26 that I came up with. So that's the one that I launched with.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. I think that's what's so amazing, too, is like when you create a brand that can like capture so many different food allergies, it's fun because you can like actually recommend it to your friends who have other food allergies. Like I have friends with dairy allergies, right? And that kind of thing. So like it's not just like I can eat it, but also they can eat it, which I think is really great.

SPEAKER_00

Yes. Yeah. I want like everyone to be able to enjoy these and not be held back based on food allergies. And I especially think about kids and kids with birthday parties and celebrations and Christmas and all these different fun events where they should be able to show up and have something that they can safely eat. And thankfully, as a child, I was not gluten-free because I don't know what I would have done, you know, going to different events and holidays and family parties. And but I think now there's so many people who are gluten-free, dairy-free, and they need to be able to have something that they can enjoy. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, I agree. Because I feel like even like as an adult, sometimes you're like, oh, this is uncomfortable that I can't eat what everyone else is eating. So I can only imagine as like a kid, it's just completely like that on like 10, like a completely different experience.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. Um, so looking back, what do you think helped like that organically Addison platform grow the way that it did? And like as you look back at you, like, wow, I can't believe like this was this is crazy, like that I was able to do this.

SPEAKER_00

It is kind of crazy having, I guess, across all my platforms, 500,000 followers. I'm from a really small town in Maine. Our population is about 12,000 people, and went to a small high school, and everybody knows everybody. So the fact that I have this big online following is definitely pretty crazy. I'd say the biggest thing that contributed to growing an audience online is consistency, is posting every single day. I've posted every day for years and showing up every day for my audience and again making it about them and not about me. So, what's going to resonate with them? What type of recipes are they in need of and serving them? Because at the end of the day, this isn't about me. This is about them and how I can best help them. So the biggest thing by far is consistency.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. I didn't do you post every day. How do you balance like testing the recipes for sweet addicts and then organically addisons? Yeah, how do you balance that?

SPEAKER_00

I don't sleep all that much. Um, I am very ambitious and driven, and I like to work every day. And for a lot of people, that might not seem like I have good life balance, but I don't really believe in the concept of work-life balance. I think what everybody's after is a life that they can enjoy and that they're passionate about. And for me, I found something that I'm really passionate about that I absolutely love to do. So uh right now it's typically on the weekends. I am filming a bunch of content for organically Addison. And then during the week, I am doing mostly sweet Addison. So I found a really great rhythm and it works well for me, and I love what I do. So that yeah, that that's how I've been able to do it. But again, I probably still work close to a hundred hours a week, but it really is my passion and my hobby, and I really enjoy it.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. Plus, I mean, you've obviously done like an created an incredible company, an incredible blog. And I feel like you only get this kind of thing if you're willing to do what other people aren't willing to do. Because not everyone's willing to work a hundred hours a week. Maybe it might say, like, oh wait, why didn't I have sweet addicts? And then it's like, well, maybe because you weren't working 100 hours a week.

SPEAKER_00

So exactly, yes. And I I really felt that in the beginning when I was working crazy, crazy hours, especially when I was doing all of the baking and fulfillment and cleaning and everything myself. It was a lot more of a physical challenge than I was used to coming from a finance background. And again, I was just so exhausted all the time, but I kept thinking this is going to pay off someday. Most people would not be able to handle this. It's it's just such a labor of love. And I think that has contributed to the success of the business. It's just I'm willing to do the really hard things and to be really gritty and tough and get through them. And it has definitely helped our success.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

I feel like it's the athlete mentality, honestly. Like I feel like my dad and I talk about that. It's like, I feel like if you've been an athlete, then like you just know like it's just that, like you said with the marathon, like you want to have like a challenge all the time.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. I think about, I don't think I'd be able to do this business if I didn't have my college athletics background because I learned so much about discipline and hard work and dedication and doing things and having to succeed at things when I don't want to do them or when I don't like what I'm doing. And I just pull on so many different experiences from being an athlete my whole life when it comes to entrepreneurship. And there's so many parallels that I didn't even realize until I became an entrepreneur myself. But I completely agree with you.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. Um, okay, so sweet Addison, it's obviously really rooted in ingredients and intention and your own like personal healing journey. What's one thing you tell someone, you know, who wants to build their platform or idea or business in a similar direction?

SPEAKER_00

I would say the biggest piece of advice I have is to not let fear hold you back. And I I talk to a lot of people who have these really great ideas, but they're so scared. And for them, the fear is paralyzing. And I get it, I was terrified, like absolutely terrified when I launched this brand. I had no idea if anyone was going to buy it. And here I was putting my name on something and announcing this to hundreds of thousands of people that it could have been an epic failure, like a very public failure. And I just remember thinking that every time in my life previously, when I had stepped outside my comfort zone and pursued something that was scary, it was always so worth it. And the biggest example I had of that was choosing to be a D1 athlete and not choosing just to be a normal student or to go division three, but really to push myself and do something that seemed intimidating at the time. And so my biggest piece of advice to people is lean into the fear and choose faith and courage over fear because life is short and you don't want to get to your deathbed someday and think that you played it safe or that you cared too much about what people thought of you and you never actually pursued your dream.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. That's honestly a mic job. I'm like, I I could add something, but I won't have you think of that. Yeah, you're you're exactly right. That's really great advice. Thank you. Yeah. Um, so it's time for the rapid fire. Uh, first question sweet or savory? Sweet, always 100%. I agree. Um, go-to gluten-free, gut-friendly snack.

SPEAKER_00

Oh, I love fresh fruit. Uh, and it's naturally gluten-free. I'm also such a protein bar type of person. I eat like two to three RX bars a day. I'm totally addicted. And they're also chocolate. Uh, but I would say an apple or a banana with peanut butter is is my go-to.

SPEAKER_03

Perfect. Um, what is your favorite sweet Addison's baked good? Our protein chocolate chip cookie.

SPEAKER_04

Oh.

SPEAKER_03

Was the protein important to you from that athlete perspective of like something that'll help you like with recovery and then also sweet, of course?

SPEAKER_00

Yes. And I also saw another big gap in the market with that because there's only a couple other protein cookie brands out there. And I think there's only one other that's gluten-free. But I read the ingredient label and couldn't pronounce half of what was on it. So I thought there's gotta be a better option. Turns out there wasn't, so I created it myself.

SPEAKER_03

That's perfect. I mean, that's that is the funny thing about when you start reading labels, which like I do as well now, and you're like, oh, like you literally cannot pronounce so many things on so many. It's like once you start looking, though, you can't go back, you can't not look at them anymore, the labels.

SPEAKER_00

Completely agree. I'll be a label reader for the rest of my life. Yeah. Right, you can't you can't unsee it. Yeah, yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_03

Um, what's the food that instantly feels like home?

SPEAKER_00

Oh, I like that question. Instantly feels like home. I would say pulled pork. We ate pulled pork growing up, we ate it at family gatherings. I was such a picky child, but I loved pulled pork. I'd say the other thing would be grilled burgers. My dad would grill burgers all the time, especially in the summer in Maine. And so a nice grilled, like smoky burger, so good. That will always remind me of home.

SPEAKER_03

That's perfect. Yeah, I feel like East Coast Summer Skewer is the best. So that's just the burger and not, yeah. The best. Um, last one, cookie or brookie.

SPEAKER_00

Oh, I will choose the brookie over our regular cookies just because it's so fun and unique, and you get the best of both worlds with the brownie and the cookie. I love the brookie. I kind of launched it for myself in the beginning because I just loved it so much. Um, my first, first, first favorite is the protein chocolate chip cookie. And then we also have a protein brownie, which I think that and the brookie would have to be tied for a second. There's no flavor that I've launched that I'm not totally obsessed with.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_00

Um, I've done a lot of recipe testing on things that I've just never launched because I wasn't like head over heels in love with them. Right. But those, yeah, those three are definitely my favorites.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. I mean, I feel like it makes sense that you make some of the flavors with yourself in mind. Cause I think when you're your own customer, like you have a gluten allergy, then you kind of obviously you have your audience, but you also tend to know what would appeal to your audience because you kind of are your audience as well.

SPEAKER_00

Exactly. Yes. I am the target demographic for my own business, which is really cool. And it's fun being able to launch these new flavors because I know that they're going to perform really well because I would, you know, I love them myself and I would buy them. So it's really fun getting to share this whole dream and passion with my audience and have people support it. It's like the coolest job ever.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. Yeah. I saw the s'mores one on there, and I was like, I told you every single thing I see on there, I'm like, okay.

SPEAKER_00

Yes. And we actually just discontinued our s'mores in the last couple of days because the marshmallow manufacturer that we were working with is retiring. So we will not have any more s'mores, but we have a couple really big launches coming up that I can tease a little bit. We have one coming up with an ice cream brand. Which a healthy ice cream brand. And I'm so excited for that. And then we have another functional, I'll call it cookie coming out. So I would I would say our protein cookies and protein brownies are functional desserts. We have a different function coming out soon. So all about health and fitness and building muscle. And I am so excited for that.

SPEAKER_03

I'm very excited too. Um, so to close, growing up, my dad would always say, whether it's about food or people or life, that things should be good to you, good for you, and good with you. When it comes to gluten-free, gut-friendly eating, what does that mean to you?

SPEAKER_00

I love that. I really believe that we can all find a diet and food that works for us, that we really enjoy eating and leaves us feeling great and is actually contributing to our longevity and health. So when I tell people that I'm gluten-free and I don't eat refined sugar and I don't drink alcohol, they think it's really boring. I love what I eat every day. You couldn't pay me to go eat McDonald's or another fast food. Like that just doesn't sound good to me. I genuinely love the foods that I eat every day. And I'm so thankful that I've found a diet for me. I diet has such a negative connotation, but a diet for me that works really, really well and allows me to perform at my best and feel my best. And I know that is doing a lot of good things for my long-term health. So I love that saying. That's really cool. Thank you.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. Um, well, this is a great Addison. Is there anything else you'd like to share?

SPEAKER_00

Uh, all of our products are available on sweetaddisons.com. We ship to all 50 states. So we can ship it wherever you live in the United States. Um, but that's pretty much it. Uh, if they want to use a discount code, we can do Dominique10. So Dominique10 at checkout. They can get 10% off their first order. And just the last thing is thank you so much for having me on today. Yeah, thank you so much for being on.

SPEAKER_03

And yes, everyone, go check out the grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy free, refined sugar-free. Am I forgetting anything else?

SPEAKER_00

Preservative free, corn-free, um, no artificial flavors, no sugar alcohols, just all the goodness.

SPEAKER_03

All the goodness, cookies, rookies, and everything in between. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you so much for tuning in. So don't miss the comments. And if you have a clip and free, out of friendly, or death side of friends, better options. Set this episode or live. We'd love to have that. This podcast is all about actual tips, stuff for the brand, and real strategies.