Sylvia's Journal

On October 30, after having watched the movie ‘’That Sugar Film’ on my way to Johannesburg, I resolved to not consume any (processed) sugar during my six week trip. This trip is now over and I succeeded.

I refused all baked goods that included sugar, including the brownies and cookies offered at workshop breaks, the breathtaking cakes and pastries displayed on hotel buffets, the ice cream offered halfway through the intercontinental flights, the gum, sweets and power bars which I would certainly have taken before, especially when hungry.

I spent 25 days in chocolate producing countries (Madagascar and Cote d’Ivoire) where I have bought chocolate in large quantities before. The only chocolate I bought (and ate all by myself) was a 5 Euro bar at the airport of Antananarivo which contained 100% cocoa. It took 10 days before it was gone. I did eat fresh fruit every morning, in small quantities, but avoided fruit juices.

My goal was to find out how a sugarless (including fake sugar) diet would affect me. And here is how: my mental clarity improved. I think more clearly now, even after a 6 week road trip, then I did at the beginning. I actually started off very sick, not sure it was related as it was a respiratory ailment in a polluted environment during their flu season, which makes cause and effect hard to establish. But after I recovered I felt better every day, and was in great shape when I landed at Logan, yesterday, after 6 weeks and a 30 hour trip.

I also lost 5 pounds. Usually I gain 5 pounds after each trip, which I usually lose quickly after I return. So I could, theoretically, have gained 20 pounds, given that I had 4 assignments in a row.

And best of all, I entirely lost my craving for sugar and have no difficulty ignoring any sugary thing put in front of me, even the things I could not resist 6 weeks ago. And so I think I continue this new habit over Christmas, the ultimate test.

I am finally home. It is the best part of travel, though it has been a great trip. I met some wonderful and dedicated people and am reminded again that there are more good people than bad people. After watching the repetitive news on Al Jazeera, BBC and France’s TV 24 in my various hotel rooms, this is a fact that is easy to overlook.

On the way home I read most of K. O Schmidt’s book “Le hasard n’existe pas,” and excellent French translation of the original German. The book was a gift from my colleague Rose in Abidjan.

Schmidt’s credo is: “En toi réside la cause de tout ce qui t’arrive dans la vie.” It matches quite nicely my proposition to participants in our workshops: all our troubles and challenges are created by ourselves – a practical proposition because it means you can change things. If others create these problems, and inflict them on us, then what can we possibly do to make things better? The current debates raging around the world, and which only benefit the military-industrial complex, shows the futility of taking this tack, dragging us ever deeper into arms races, serpentine wires and toxicity of all types.