The Sweet Comeback: The Sugar Files

Sugar. They’re pouring rivers out of 10-pound bags. We’re embracing a scoop here and there. They’re saying “none at all” over there—fatty liver disease! We’re thriving without coffee, while the ones who say “zero sugar” drink tons. Who’s crashing out? Not the ones proving it by having more than we would—and pricking their fingers to show the spikes… don’t happen.

That’s the conversation right now. Sugar is louder than ever (again)—heroes and villains everywhere. And while some people are making their point by dumping cups of sugar into bowls on camera, we’ve quietly returned to a rhythm that works. But we didn’t land here overnight. Skip to the bottom if you're not interested in the back story.

From 2003 to 2014, I was plant-based and trying so hard to make it work. I was unlearning all the “nutrition” I’d been taught. Navigating a world with fewer alternatives (that I really wanted as I transitioned) and forced to pay a pretty penny if I wasn't near a Trader Joe's. I made a ton of mistakes, but I pushed as hard as I could to be consistent. One thing for sure was I felt incredible about reducing harm and my carbon footprint while reversing years of problem skin, overwhelming allergies, and migraine headaches.

Always ready to do it for all the right reasons. I sad goodbye to my career in dance and entered my Devil Wears Prada era. Some seasons I was skinny and hungry. Some seasons I was fluffy and full of Dun-Well Doughnuts. Almost every day, I wondered if lasting energy would ever stick.

Then came 2015—the year everything clicked.

• High fruit

• Simple but massive smoothies that lasted through late mornings

• A little raw sugar where it helped

• Entire tubs of oil‑free hummus with rice cakes for lunch

• Fun workouts after long days of work

• Grounding, starchy, legume‑filled dinners with vegetables

Not a coffee in sight. No crash cycles. My employees were telling me I should write a book.

I had energy that didn’t need proving—it was embodied.

2016 was the year everything changed again.

My mom had always struggled with her relationship with food. It led to a lifelong battle with diabetes and well‑hidden depression. As I was living the best health year of my life, she revealed that she had been misdiagnosed years earlier—and was now facing cancer. She didn’t tell me how severe it was. She stayed optimistic, so I would keep thriving.

I made multiple trips home. I got her on a protocol, and we kicked diabetes down. With fruits, greens, and yes, sugar. I watched her blood sugar normalize. I watched her energy rise as she threw away her meds. I watched her confidence come back. She was ready to live a healthier life for good. She was happy.

And then she was gone.

The cancer had been stage 4, and we were no match for the years that got her there.

The grief was crushing. I stayed compassionately plant-based, but I lost touch with what had given me the best year of my life. I smoked. I drank. I stumbled through my days and my meals. Even as I kept my life food‑centered, nothing could touch the empowerment of 2015.

A lot of other things started to fall from view as life moved on. I would face my own cancer—twice. I carried on as best as I could while slowly reclaiming my strength.

From 2017 through 2023, I became a workhorse.

I held multiple jobs, built and closed businesses, chased new opportunities, and lived in constant motion. Pre‑COVID was all hustle; then the world stopped, and everything shifted again. I did a 152‑day juice cleanse (10/10 don’t recommend). I got certified in raw plant‑based nutrition. I met my husband. We left New York. I learned new trades. I started new ventures. I hired a personal trainer—another fluctuation. I launched The Plant Five in 2022—only to derail my momentum when I threw myself into managing a flower shop I nearly purchased.

Eighteen‑hour days. Tons of coffee. Tons of crashes.

All the while, my lifestyle yo‑yoed within the plant‑based spectrum. I was still food‑centered, but far from the 2015 rhythm that had given me my best health. Some seasons I leaned high‑raw. Some I leaned into comfort and convenience. I’d surge and crash, train and burn out, rise and fall—another fluctuation, another climb, another crash.

By the end of 2023, I had the work ethic, the history, and the scars—but I knew I hadn’t reclaimed the lightness, freedom, and energy of 2015. It felt like I had learned nothing.

2024 was a year of status quo—still a lot of work, but no spark.

A trip to Costa Rica changed everything. We decided to move. I declined the floral business and stayed on remotely to support the ownership, until eventually the cord was cut. I did a 54‑day juice cleanse (10/10 don’t recommend). I became a personal trainer and took bigger steps toward my passion of sharing this lifestyle.

But behind the scenes, I was digging deeper with The Plant Five—and stalling out. I didn’t want to create offerings that felt aspirational but unsustainable. I didn’t want to be a fraud. I couldn’t encourage something that wasn’t truly working for me.

I was clinging to fully raw, but I wasn’t loving it. And I wasn’t benefiting from it.

Then November 6th hit—enough said—and I basically blacked out. The learning curve of expat life landed hard. I slipped back into familiar patterns: frozen foods, dinners out, and constant fluctuations.

And then came 2025.

I finally determined that The Plant Five had to be rooted in the lifestyle I’ve watched work for me and for others. The one that felt natural, sustainable, and freeing. 2015 rang the doorbell.

Okay, so… sugar.

We’re carbed up. We’re scooping raw sugar into our high‑fruit meals. We’ve reclaimed oil‑free dinners with starches, legumes, and vegetables with fat-free sugar-based sauces. And even though I haven’t been working out as much since reclaiming some cooked meals and cutting the overt fats, the results are undeniable:

• Body composition is shifting.

• Energy is consistent.

• Life feels sustainable again.

It’s recent, yes—but it’s real. This is the rhythm I can stand behind. This is why The Plant Five method looks the way it does now: not as a rigid raw ideal, but as a lifestyle that actually works—and lasts.

The “no sugar camp” loves to warn about fatty liver, insulin spikes, and crashes. And they’re not wrong—if you’re eating sugar alongside high fat, even “good fats,” processed foods, and late‑night binges, that’s exactly what happens. But that’s not this.

Sugar isn’t the villain—it’s the fuel your body actually wants. Your brain, muscles, and liver all run on glucose—the body’s primary energy source (Ludwig et al., 2021; Stanhope, 2016). When sugar is paired with fat, it can cause the “crash” everyone fears—but in a low‑fat, high‑carbohydrate lifestyle, your body clears it effortlessly into glycogen, the energy storage that powers everything you do.

That’s why The Plant Five adds sugar. Period. A little raw sugar in a smoothie, a sprinkle in a juice, or a sugar‑based, fat‑free sauce at dinner isn’t rebellion—it’s rhythm. It keeps glycogen topped up, muscles fueled, and organ function smooth without the coffee‑crash cycle.

And the results speak for themselves:

• Flexibility & Satiation: No more yo‑yoing between “raw or bust” and comfort foods

• Healthy Blood Sugar: Smooth levels because glucose is being used, not blocked by fats

• Internal Organ Function: A clean, low‑fat protocol gives your liver and pancreas a break

• Performance & Composition: Glycogen stores are full, workouts and recovery are easier, and body composition follows

• No More Life‑Hacking: Intermittent fasting and hacks become irrelevant when you’re on a steady drip of the body’s preferred energy source

We’re not counting calories (unless you beg us to). We’re not living on willpower. We’re living on fuel.

The Plant Five will always stand on the shoulders of 2015, because that’s when we learned what actually works. But this lifestyle has upgrades that make it stick: sugar where it serves, oil‑free cooked dinners for balance, and the flexibility to live without crashing, craving, or overthinking.

It’s simple. It’s sustainable. It’s the comeback we’re here to share with anyone looking for the freedom we've reclaimed.

Coaching is open. Let's go.