A Lean and Clean Reflection

 A Lean and Clean Reflection

Frequent readers of my blog will know that in mid-May of this year, my husband and I signed up for a six-week Lean and Clean challenge at our gym (https://mondaymollymusings.blogspot.com/2025/05/a-lean-and-clean-refresh.html ). 

The challenge is (almost) over. As part of the “bonus points” we were able to earn, we were invited to write a final reflection. What were the highs, the lows and the take-aways? What were the habits we established? What barriers hampered our success? 

This reflection is for our coach, but also for my blog. 

The Successes

I would not have had as many “wins” if it were not for my husband. It was actually his idea to try the Lean and Clean Challenge. I had vowed I would never get involved in something like this. I didn’t want to compete with others. I’m usually not motivated by things like points. (I know the dangers of relying on extrinsic motivation factors like rewards to change behaviour.) However, once he expressed some interest, I signed us up. We’ve been going to our Cross Fit gym since 2018 and it was time to “shake things up” and give our gym participation a bit of a refresh. 

(This is a photo of James taken around May 24, 2025.)

The pre-challenge physical evaluation and “game plan” at the start really helped to establish measurable, quantifiable parameters. I had kept food diaries in the past, but I had never tracked things like caloric intake along with protein, carbohydrate, fat, sugar and sodium levels. I learned a lot more about food this way, even though James was the one who did most of the meal planning (since he does most of the cooking). For instance, I was delighted with my original idea that I’d get to eat as much bacon as I wanted, because I needed to increase my protein intake. To my disappointment, the sodium levels in bacon made that pipe dream impossible. I tried turkey bacon but it wasn’t the same. James said that when he went grocery shopping, even our kids started to copy his lead and check the nutrition labels on products. I knew about nutrition labels. Heck, I even taught about nutrition labels to my students! However, I didn’t really understand the ins and outs of these labels until we had to make note of the numbers. 

Speaking of numbers, I used to have a Fit Bit but I stopped wearing it after the pandemic. My step count became so low that it felt pointless. Paying attention to my step count again helped me become a better judge of how active I was throughout the day (because I had numbers to actually confirm it!) and it even motivated my students. At one point during Week 5, we were asked to try and spend at least 30 minutes outside in nature. I combined this with my step count and at lunch, I’d walk around our large school yard path. Some students walked with me. Some students wanted to see how many steps I earned after a single lap of the path. They had fun estimating how many steps a lap would take and then eagerly crowded around me to see how many steps I had racked up. They cheered when I increased by 1000 steps after each lap. 

Another success was that going to the gym - and increasing our number of gym visits from three times a week to five times a week - did not seem as big of a deal. There were other things that were much harder than just going to the gym for an hour, especially the ones involving eating. 

(The photos above were taken in early June.)

James saw some pretty impressive physical transformations, even in just six weeks. He moved his belt one notch smaller. He could fit into shirts that were extra-snug before. His face was thinner, his waist narrower, and his abdominal muscles became more defined. I wasn’t seeing the same kind of metamorphosis in myself. However, a colleague at work said to me one day, “I don’t like to make a point of commenting on people’s physical appearances, but you look fitter; I see a difference in you.” She saw something in me that I didn’t. 

My stomach didn’t gurgle as much in the night, probably thanks to the type of things I was eating. My skin wasn’t as dry, because I was drinking a lot of water. There were quite a few positive results.

The Setbacks

It definitely wasn’t all wine and roses. (Actually, there was no wine; alcohol has too many calories.) Let me complain, for a bit, about the water. I was required to drink 3 liters of water a day. This was extremely difficult. I had to spend a lot more time in the bathroom. During the first three or four weeks, I felt like I was sloshing around. I even accidentally hurt my teeth by bulging my cheeks out with water inside (which caused a pressure vacuum). I’d leave my water bottles in random places and I really had to force myself to drink. The amount of water drinking meant that I didn’t want to drink anything else. I would occasionally have a cup of herbal tea in the morning, but I was just turned off consuming more liquid. 

My biggest gripes besides the water were the lack of spontaneity and the impact on social events. I deliberately “broke” or missed my macronutrient goals a few times, because of certain gatherings. I went to brunch with friends. I fed my parents their favourite West Indian curry and roti from Mona’s and ate alongside them. I went to a TL event at a pub. I took James out for Father’s Day to Red Lobster. I dined at a retirement function. Some of these places didn’t even have calorie numbers on their menus. It’s challenging to plan, stick to your plan, and not look like a “party pooper”.

(This is a photo of my brunch with friends.)

I didn’t give in to every social opportunity, but it made for awkward moments. My principal really wanted to treat the staff during the spring concert with a pizza dinner. He offered to buy me a salad so I could participate, but it was easier to stick with my planned meals for the day. Communal eating builds bonds between people. I turned down spending time with friends at a Korean restaurant prior to attending a play because I didn’t want to try to calculate what a meal would involve. I don’t have the skills yet to be able to accurately determine the best meal on the menu to order.

Another challenge: dealing with surprises. One day, a wonderful parent volunteer beckoned me over and said she had made something special for me. It was this absolutely delicious ice cream vanilla layer cake. I couldn’t pass up such a wonderful gift. (It tasted divine!) 

There are lots of snacks offered at school and I couldn’t partake most of the time because it wasn’t part of the plan and I didn’t know enough about adjusting things to accommodate. 

I thought that my LEWIS (Lunch Every Wednesday Is Salad) event at my school would be helpful, but it was more stressful. It’s a salad buffet where participants bring in an assigned item each week. With this amount of variety, I couldn’t properly estimate my salads. I could check the salad dressing labels but I didn’t want to be “that” person to measure everything I put on my plate or bring a food scale to school.

(This was one of the salads I had. Little dressing!)

I will also take this opportunity to curse out burpees. At one point, we had to spend ten minutes on an exercise that we dislike and that could use some improvement. Sadly, there are MANY exercises that fall under those categories for me. With advice from one of the coaches, I chose burpees. I hate burpees. I only did it twice for that bonus week. 

The Second Act

So, what are our take-aways? What will we continue to do even now that Lean & Clean is over? It’s tempting to throw all restrictions aside and eat with abandonment. However, I think there will be some lasting habits we will try to maintain, even when we don’t get points for them. 

1. I will try to drink more water. I won’t drink 3L but I will try to drink at least 2L most days.

2. I will try to continue using my pedometer to monitor my steps.

3. I will try to go four times a week to the gym during the summer. (It’s a halfway mark between our past practice of three days a week and our Lean & Clean drill of five days a week.)

4. I will attempt to maintain the practice of measuring my snacks (e.g. 1 cup of Hickory Sticks, 17 Malteasers) and continue to eat healthy snacks as well (e.g. Babybel cheese, Kashi flax bars).

5. I will possibly continue writing in my Lean & Clean booklet (since I never was able to get the hang of the My Fitness Pal app) until I finish all the pages.

6. I will no longer skip breakfast and lunch. A bowl of cereal or two boiled eggs with an apple is better than starving by 3:00 p.m. and grabbing junk food. 

The Surprises

There were observations I wanted to include that didn’t fit into the pre-determined categories, so I included this section, on surprises. 

There’s a lot of economic privileges involved with taking on a challenge like this. You’d think it’d be cheaper to eat healthy but it’s not. We bought food scales and special water bottles and satchels to carry my phone in to use as a pedometer. We signed up for healthy meal services that cost a lot more money than a typical TV dinner you could buy at the supermarket. 

(This is James posing with my new water bottle.)

Having said that, I was surprised at how tasty some of these meals were. We used the Factor Meals program and those were easy to prepare and yummy to eat. 

(This was part of my first Factor meal I tried.)

Talking about this journey with others has also brought some surprising insights and discoveries. My friend has the gift of accurate meal estimation. At the Lean & Clean Nutrition Seminar and launch, the coaches talked about using the plate method and comparing portions to body part sizes (i.e. the size of your fist, or palm). This was hard for me and I had to rely on weighing or labels or James. I was out twice with this friend, who glanced at what I ordered and told me what she determined was my protein and carb level. I was so impressed! She explained that, as a diabetic, she had a natural feedback method built into her, so she got good at figuring out how much food she needed to stay balanced.

(She said this was 65-70g of carbs & 6 oz of protein.)

I was really surprised (and somewhat sad) to discover that I’ve lost the taste for certain things. I don’t want pop anymore. I’m too full of water to desire anything else to drink. Plus, when I was at Ban Ban Chicken, I ordered a Crush Cream Soda and found it was too sweet. 

I was surprised to see how I began to become aware of how certain foods affected me, and that expensive meals that are protein-heavy, like this delicious meal at Chakko (Korean BBQ - see photos below) “sat well” with me, whereas things that were more fried or processed didn’t.

Finally, I was surprised to discover I liked taking long walks with James that served no other purpose except to be outside and stay active. 

So, big thanks to all the Cross Fit Canuck staff and to all the participants of Lean & Clean (whose names and faces I finally know because of that display I set up at the gym- that was the secret motivation to doing it, to help my poor memory!). This was a very educational journey for me.

This was the “wall” before we added cards!

P.S. I wrote this blog post a while back. I wanted to add that the final results have been reported. I'm delighted to share that my husband "won" as the top male in the Lean & Clean Challenge. As the images below (taken from the Cross Fit Canuck Instagram account) show, James lost 13.8 pounds of fat and reduced his overall body fat by 5.7%. (The top woman in the group, Marsha, is a friend of ours from the gym. She works very hard and I'm so glad she ended up first among the females!)

When Imitation IS the Sincerest Form of Flattery

 The last week of school was full of replicas and facsimiles. Here's a recap of the originals and their complimentary copies.

Restaurant Replay - Trip to Cora's and the School-Based Version (Times Two!)

On Monday, June 23, the Junior and Intermediate ESL students took a trip to Cora's, a Canadian brunch chain, to dine together and practice their English reading and speaking skills. Over twenty students took the TTC on this hot day to enjoy a meal together. The portions were huge and the food choices a bit different from what our students are accustomed to eating, but it was a lovely half-day excursion. Big thanks to Connie Chan, who came up with the idea.

The very next day, all the Library Helpers met in the staff room to enjoy their Appreciation Breakfast. I was the short order cook, flipping pancakes as fast as I could make them. Our Library Club President and Vice-President doled out syrup, berries and whipped cream toppings. It definitely made me appreciate restaurant employees!

Some of our Primary Division ESL students were disappointed that they were not included on the restaurant trip. Instead, the students that were customers on Monday's trip transformed into waitresses and cooks on Friday, June 27. We had a small restaurant café for the younger and less-articulate students so that they were included in the fun. Our ESL leaders welcomed visitors, took orders, and served the other students. I really liked how they stuck the orders on the makeshift wall of the "kitchen" for the food preparation staff to fill.

 

So You Think You Can Dance - Sanrio Edition!

This year's So You Think You Can Dance judges were Cinnamaroll, My Melody, and PomPom Purin from the Hello Kitty universe. We didn't look exactly like the characters but we made pretty decent copies. Here are the three teacher actresses, (me, Ms. Connie Yau and Mrs. Kerri Commisso) with our stuffed animal doppelgangers. 

Big thanks go to Mrs. Commisso's daughter for allowing her mom to borrow her cute pink and white Jordans to complete the outfit!

Another shout-out to Connie Yau, who supplied us with the headbands and the ideas for the judge theme this year. The stuffies were a cute extra touch.

Play Day - Students Take The Lead

On Wednesday, June 25, we had Play Day. This was an event run entirely by the student members of the Student Council. It took a lot of work and a lot of faith in our intermediate students. Thankfully, they modelled some of their plans on Track and Field Day, by arranging rotations and a treat station as part of the mix. Lisa Daley, the Student Council staff advisor, should be incredibly proud of how the students, under her guidance, were able to make it such a success.

Fake Trees in the Library 

I will write about this more at length in the future, but this week, the team of artistic Grade 8s were able to complete one of their legacy projects. They transformed one of the plain poles in the library into a birch tree, complete with branches made of chicken wire and paper maché. 

On our final day, there were a lot of tears during our Grade 8 clap- out and at dismissal. Some students are moving and they were so distraught that they'd be leaving permanently after this day. To those who are sad - yes, it hurts, but thankfully we have ways to keep in touch. Thank you to everyone that made it such a memorable one. 

ConGRADulations (and Supporting on Stage)

This past week was "Graduation Week". Our Grade 8s and Senior Kindergarten students had their special ceremonies. I wrote about last year's ceremonies on my blog and focused on the behind-the-scenes efforts of everyone involved to make the events successful. It is still an important truth, but this year, I'll talk about humility and anxiety.

Our fantastic Grade 8 teacher, who has been giving 110% percent all year, fell sick. She was very concerned that she was unable to complete the final arrangements prior to the big day. Thankfully, she was able to attend the graduation ceremony but had to leave shortly afterwards. She is still recovering. The good news is that we believe in the mantra "the show must go on" and many other teachers were able to pitch in. I was present for the rehearsals that began two weeks before, so my fellow co-chair and I took care of that portion. Our French teacher and several volunteer Grade 9s decorated the gym. Other staff members took care of the medals, programs, and transforming the library into a fancy dining environment for the soon-to-be-high-schoolers.

The students themselves were practically vibrating with excitement and nerves on June 19. Lots of worries, both big and small, peppered their thoughts. Sometimes I question whether or not we make graduation "too much of a big deal". My American-born husband is always surprised by how elaborate many elementary school graduation ceremonies can be. I even wonder if some of the talks we give our students contribute to their anxiety, by elevating this one event to be something particularly memorable and monumental. This anxiety can be a bit contagious. Even some of the adults had moments of self-doubt. People asked others to check over their award speeches. They looked at seating plans. Structure and rehearsal helped calm some of these concerns and it ended up being a fantastic evening.

The same was true for our SK graduation, held the next day; it was a lovely celebration. Having said that, one of our students became completely overwhelmed and refused to come up to the front to receive his scroll. Instead, we went to him. We didn't force him. During the song, he hid behind the curtains. During the class photo, he ran away. It's important to realize that some of these milestone events are more for the families than for the individual students themselves. I know it can be disappointing for the parents to not capture a photo of their little cutie on stage, but it isn't always in the cards. We teachers can try to prepare the students as best as we can to deal with the fear our students might feel (again, with structure and rehearsals so they know what to expect), but even then, the pressure may be too much for some little ones. In that case, we grownups need to adapt. That's why it's wonderful that a big part of the kindergarten graduation program involves a pre-made video featuring photos of all the students throughout the year doing all sorts of wonderful things. Our SK graduation ceremony also features a moment when positive things are said about each and every student. So, even if a child is unable or unwilling to perform, they are still featured and honoured.

I was honoured to receive an absolutely adorable "corn bouquet", with replicas of me, one of the kindergarten teachers, and one of the ECEs! (I'm the one with glasses!)

I also wonder, as other teachers did during a conversation in the staffroom, whether or not part of the "cure" for this anxiety is, conversely, to give them multiple opportunities to do things that somewhat scare them, so that they learn to deal with their feelings in productive ways in safe spaces. This "stage support", and the need to provide these changes to practice doing the things that might make them uneasy, was evident during our annual Story Jam. Selected students from the primary division were invited to recite their memorized stories or poems for the other Grade 1-4 classes. Many of the students were really apprehensive. Some of the classroom teachers had to sit next to them, with the paper version of the story in their hands, to reassure them. Public speaking is a common phobia, but if we educators do things to help alleviate this fear, maybe it can help in other areas of life as well. 

"Don't be shy; give it a try." Even tiny, timid baby bunnies venture out of the nest to explore. There's a mama bunny with four kits that are living in my strawberry patch and under our deck. My husband captured these photos of them bravely facing the world.

Finally, I want to recognize someone who is graduating in a different way - she's retiring! Congratulations to Parviz Paliwalla. Parviz was an EA at our school for many years. Even when she was transferred to a different school, she maintained contact with us. She let us know that this June is her final year in education, and so several of us met for dinner to recognize this big life change. (I didn't show images of the entire crew, because I didn't get permission from everyone to share.)

Congratulations Parviz on your retirement, and congratulations to everyone on their school achievements, big and small. 

Flying, Frozen and Furry

It was another busy week at school. Some portions happened like clockwork - our annual Volunteer Appreciation event and the TDSB TL Social. Others were unique to this year, so I will focus on those memories to analyze, in reverse order from the title of this post.

Furry, Four-Legged Friends: Our Pet Club Celebration with Biscuit

One of the clubs I ran this year was Pet Club. I started it based on a suggestion from a student, who wanted time to interact with our school skinny pigs. The students, chosen from applicants in Grades 3-5, had to check in daily on the pets to ensure they had food and water. They were also responsible for letting me know when the cage was dirty so that we could clean it. Technically, I did all the cleaning and they "babysat" the skinny pigs. The problem with Pet Club is that students were, to use a Caribbean figure of speech, either "8 or 80". They either completely forgot about checking on them, leaving them without basic necessities, or over-attentive, checking on them at every recess and free period (and even during lessons too). We had schedules set up and posted all over the library, as well as copies sent home with the participating students. I included a list of the things to do as part of Pet Club. Unfortunately, some students still had difficulty keeping up with the demands and they had to be demitted from Pet Club. To recognize and acknowledge the students that persevered with their duties, we hosted a dog visit with Biscuit, a canine who lives with the Miller family in the neighbourhood.

Mr. Miller was absolutely fabulous. He is a member of our school's Parent Council and an active volunteer. He also knows how to speak to students. It may be due to the nature of his daytime job, or because he has four children in his home, but for whatever the reasons, he was an excellent ambassador. The goal was for the students to know how to interact safely and respectfully with dogs they may encounter in the community. We talked inside the library and then went outside.

The students were fascinated by Biscuit and interested in everything Mr. Miller taught them. He explained about the need to ask owners for permission before petting dogs in public. He demonstrated how to approach from the side and let the dog get comfortable first. He had students empathize with dogs to help them understand why they might react in the ways they do. By the time we went outside, a larger crowd gathered to check out what was going on. He showed how to keep your palm open and flat when offering treats so that the dog can accept the snack safely.

As Mr. Miller brought around Biscuit for the students to meet, we realized that many of our students were quite uncomfortable around dogs. Some, even though they were Pet Club enthusiasts, showed quite a bit of fear and were very skittish around Biscuit. Mr. Miller was very patient and reassuring. Some students chose not to get near the dog, and that choice was honoured and respected. Others were eager but nervous and they received lots of support and Mr. Miller had Biscuit sitting in a way that gave students the confidence to interact a bit more.

Afterwards, Mr. Miller expressed some regret that he wasn't able to mention all the things he wanted to cover during his talk. I was so appreciative of his time and effort with this presentation and told him that the students left with important information. Thank you, Brian Miller and Biscuit, for ending the Pet Club duties with a woof!

Frozen Treats: Our ESL Ice Cream Inquiry

One scoop or two? Do you prefer chocolate or vanilla? Where is it kept? Oh no, it's melting!

Sharing ice cream with the Stage 1-2 ESL classes helped develop a lot of vocabulary. I had some leftover ice cream from the Quiz Bowl celebration last week. We researched different types of ice cream, which helped reading comprehension. We also wrote down some of these flavors. The class pre-set goals (write down 10 flavors) and when we achieved them, we trooped to the office where we have a freezer tucked away in the back.

As I've mentioned before, food is highly motivating. The students really enjoyed talking about ice cream and especially eating the ice cream!

Flying Up and Away: More Green Screen Magic in the Library

As part of my big library renovation and refresh, the school purchased a large green screen. I decided to try it out with the Kindergarten students as part of my library/media lessons with them, although I had a secondary reason. Their kindergarten graduation is coming up, and sometimes it can be hard to find photos of individual children doing school things. With the yearbook, I tend to prioritize taking group pictures. When preparing the Grade 8 and kindergarten graduate slide shows, we have to be so careful about only including images of the students in question, since we don't have permission to show the others. By taking these whimsical green screen photos, we can use them for their SK graduation and maybe eight years in the future for their Grade 8 graduation!

It's important to teach THROUGH and ABOUT media, so part of this lesson involved showing how the technology worked. I used the Do Ink Green Screen app and showed them how this particular shade of green is substituted in the app with whatever image I select. I also relied on the "problem solving and innovation" aspect of the kindergarten curriculum to get the students to figure out how we could make it appear as if they were flying. They quickly discovered that using one of the big block seats, covered with fabric in the same shade of bright green, would hide the support. 

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Students even had the chance to take photos themselves using Do Ink. 

Here I am showing them how we can look like we are flying.

We also had good conversations afterwards about whether or not they were really flying and they were able to say they weren't because it was just pretend, thanks to the green screen.  

This coming week will be filled with graduation and retirement celebrations. Hopefully there will be some time for teaching in between!

P.S. Sunday, June 15, 2025 was also Father's Day. Happy Father's Day to my own Popperino, Fred DeFreitas, and my husband (and a fantastic father himself), James Maliszewski! I probably should have called this post "Flying, Frozen, Furry, and Fatherly"!