stuck

dreamer

New Member
UG, I have been stuck at this weight for a week, now. LOL. Calorie wise I have been quite low, fiberwise I am way up.I feel like I eat more now than before, but, I am eating only healthy things, now, making every morsel count for something good. I wish I could say I felt better, but, I feel worse. yeesh. My illness is flareing stronger and harder with each passing day. I have backed off on wheat fiber sources and use more brown rice, and legumes. I am also watching glycemic index closer, checking blood sugar 6-10 times per day, too. Had been increaseing activity level but it gets harder and harder with the increase in my flareing. good news is my blood pressure has lowered nicely. I just am not sure how to break thru this being stuck. It is disheartening to be being SO careful, so diligent and be so stuck. I know my calorie intake is far less than it used to be, and no junk stuff going in...and my activity level is increased....seems so unfair, LOL! (Like I tell my kids, Life is not always Fair)
Oh well, I have to stay at it, anyway.....
 

trinityroyal

Well-Known Member
Dreamer, do you know if you have any thyroid issues that might be causing you to be stuck?

My husband (insulin resistance, significant hypothyroid) hit a plateau with his weight loss for a few weeks. His bariatric doctor checked his thyroid, and arranged for the compounding pharmacy to provide new medications for him. He's now on synthroid, and some sort of iodine-based compound, and they seem to have taken him past the plateau. He also reports that his energy level--usually VERY sluggish--is picking up.

Sometimes plateaus are just a natural part of weight loss. I have found that when I make a big change like that, my body pauses for a little while after the first few weeks. It's almost like my body needs to get used to the new state of affairs before it knows what it's supposed to do.

Don't let it get you down. I hope you sort things out soon.

Trinity
 

totoro

Mom? What's a difficult child?
Cheering you on also!!! I have no excuses for plateau... my is stress related! I lost a bunch and now I am just too stressed to keep going. I am not gaining...
I hope you can keep it up. It is SO hard when it is SO strict. I am supposed to have 1200-1300 calories... that comes and goes SO fast. I have to keep it lower to lose weight. Yikes.
Yeah life is unfair, sounds like you are staying optimistic Dreamer.
 

dreamer

New Member
I had to nearly beg for thyroid to be checked a year or so ago---yeesh. I do not know why but, docs here just HATE when the patient (or the mother of the patient) requests somethng, it is like it has to be docs idea or forget it. (I begged for years to have difficult child have blood sugar, thyroid testing and sleep study, never did get any of those done, and now she is far too skittish and over 18. Begged for years to get son evaluated - kept getting dismissed, FINALLY they found his ceberal palsy and seizures, via MRI after I self referred and begged to get in at Shriners....)
Yes, could be throid, how I had to beg for things to be tested just recently, too, does not matter what doctor - none of them seem to ever want to do tests.
Yes, easy child said last nite she thought maybe even tho I am eating more, now (and spread out thru the day) that maybe my calorie intake is just low enough my body does not want to believe properly. Guess I need to hang in here. Keep doing what I am doing.....and maybe it just feels long to me, LOL, maybe I am just too impatient. LOL--but I will ask my doctor next week about thyroid, too. (again)
I am also bringing my food diary in with me. and blood pressure, blood sugar and weight logs.
 

'Chelle

Active Member
Get the tests done, insist on it, it's a simple blood test to start isn't it? I think that was checked on the request form when I had blood tests done last week. Every diet hits plateaus. The best thing is to increase your exercise a bit, but with your flareup I guess that's not too easy. If not, just stay steady with your diet, your body will eventually start losing again. Don't drop to too low a calorie intake as they say that will actually slow down your metabolism as your body starts to think you're starving.

Stay with it.
 

scent of cedar

New Member
UG, I have been stuck at this weight for a week, now.


Well...maybe you aren't stuck, at all Dreamer. YOU MADE THE CHANGES AND YOU ARE STICKING TO IT.

The battle is won.

The weight will come off in time, and when it does, that will be good.

What matters here, I think, is how differently you are looking at yourself now.

How you look on the outside will catch up, by and by.

I think you are doing just great. It's kind of like me and that cigarette thing. I made the changes I wanted to make, but so much of who I am was bound up in those old behaviors that I miss myself. I swear, when I see someone casually exhaling cigarette smoke?

I want to run right over there and **** it all in!

It's like ~ "Geez! Don't waste that perfectly good smoke!"

:)

Seriously.

I think we are just trying to trick ourselves back into our old, satisfying behaviors.

I can't imagine what I could substitute for cigarettes that would even begin to make me as happy as I was when I could smoke, smoke, smoke. (I just love to talk about cigarettes ~ can you tell!?!

HA!

Hang on a little longer.

We'll see where we all are next week at this time.

Maybe I will be dreaming I am smoking, by then.

How cool.

I can hardly wait....

Seriously.

:)

Barbara
 

dreamer

New Member
you guys are great! THanks. Yes, I AM sticking with it, and I DO find it rather exciting, interesting. SO many foods I never invstigated, LOL. So many labels Inever read. Truth is before I ate once a day, a HUGE meal of whatever I wanted, and now I AM eating 4-6 mini meals---and I am enjoying the whole new way of doing things- savoring even these super healthy choices I make of this over that becuz THIS fits the need better at the moment for what I am trying to have as my goal. The kids say mom can you have that, I say well yeah.I can have whatever I want.....but..do I WANT that? Nah, not right now, not today not for this meal...and truth is I mean it, LOL. My oats and water meal, my greens and vinegar and garlic meal, my fish meal, my legume dish...LOL. My water with lemon...I AM enjoying it. Never dreamed I would LOVE vinegar just for itself, by itself, but I do. Never thught I might mash lentils and add a drop of tobasco and have THAT for a one teaspoon snack and really enjoy it. But- I DO. LOL. too funny, some of the things I have come up with.

Alas, I continue to puff on MY cigs......harsh reality is I hold on to those SO tight...I like those still.....altho I am thinking it will not be much longer before I do feel so strange and outcast becuz of them.....and I do my best to not intrude on others when I do smoke them. BUT course, the smell is still on my clothes, so people DO comment to me,not nicely even when they do not even see me smoke.

Well, I got this stuff today, heard about it in one of my diabetic books- "Stevia" I do not use equal or sweet and low or anything like them......but.I had heard and read enough about stevia to picque my curiosity. Altho I never used much sugar anyway. did not drink soda pop, did not sugar cereal, and already have cut sugar out of any coffee, and do drink hot tea plain, always have. and have some baby lima beans, dried, to go play with, too. To go with my salmon for dinner. LOL.

Maybe it was the fright of it all, but I have not (YET) really missed my fast food cheeseburgers yet. THAT was a BIG surprise to me. Not sure if I really miss much of anything except some cheese here and there, which once significant weight comes off, I may add back a tiny bit of.or maybe I will get past missing it so much? LOL.

So, I CONTNIUE tobe "stuck" at this weight.......but, with all the help from everyone here, I also continue to stick to it all. Thanks!
 

Josie

Active Member
Dreamer,

Since you have said that you think wheat makes your symptoms worse, you might want to try eliminating all gluten (wheat, rye, oats, barley). There is gluten free oats that you can buy if you can't give that up. My symptoms from gluten are a lot worse now when I have even a little than they were when I was eating it all the time.
 

dreamer

New Member
you know, that gluten'wheat idea has been hanging in my mind.....I had been thinking that since I now have less fod/calories going in, and more fiber stuff, lots of wheat, maybe it is what is makeing me flare. Maybe you have a good point. Becuz yeah, the truth is now my percentage of wheat and or gluten now compared to before, held up against my overall intake, is now higher even if I am taking in less, it is still a bigger percentage than before (did I say that right? LOL) I should get serious and check it out. I did take a few days off from wheat and oats and use brown rice instead, but I bet I did not try that for enough days.
 

Josie

Active Member
I would react to gluten if I toasted my gluten free bread in a toaster that had been toasting regular bread. That is how little it takes for me! So you might end up having to be really strict. It seems hard but if it is the answer for you, it seems like a miracle and is worth it.

My symptoms before were cognitive and mood issues. I didn't really know I had these problems until I saw what I was like without gluten. I did have pain in my foot from a bunion that I thought I was going to have to have corrected. I was planning the surgery for that summer. Now, I still have the bunion but it doesn't hurt at all any more. So I know it can help with pain and swelling.

A good website for tips and inspiration is www.glutenfreeforum.com. You could type in your symptoms and see if other people have been helped by giving up gluten.

As an extra bonus, I lost 15 lbs. without really trying on this diet. I also eat healthier and surprisingly, enjoy my food more.
 

dreamer

New Member
Well, I do know that many with my illness DO say getting rid of wheat helps some, and getting rid of corn helps some and getting rid of dairy helps some.I mean some people. They never say gluten specifically, they just say wheat. And I did bump up wheat.my Tues nite spaghetti dinners I did change over to whole wheat pasata to try becuz it has a lower GI than reegular spaghetti pasta....so- I would imagine that would be more gluten, too? More than regular pasta? (I do not know, have not yet checked) and I have now wandered into the health foods section of grocery for first time ever....and have been seeing gluten free things labeled on the shelves......
So much to learn. SO much to experiment with......so much to keep it all new and exciting and keep me hopeful, LOL.

Now-----today? The plateau broke thru! My scale this morning now tells me I have lost TWELVE pounds now since starting this quest. (I was stuck at 9 pound loss over a week it stayed right there)
BUT.....it may not hold at 12, and might change and just be 10 pounds lost or something....I had my own meltdown yesterday over the violence and schools, and shootings and being at RMH etc and the intensity of the sadness there, and all of a sudden, I panicked extra bad, and realized I was NOT taking my son to his next appointment. Once I calmed from THAT, I was exhausted and fell asleep and wound up eating nearly nothing at all yesterday at all. The only good part of that decision is, he is fine, and he did just see his main eye doctor, and this appointment was just to keep us in touch....so missing it is not going to be a risk at all, or a problem.

But the panic and exhaustion musta contributed to breaking thru my plateau? LOL.

Yesterday I bumped into something called "Stevia" at grocery. It sounded interesting.....I use VERY little sugar....always have...and I never use artificial sweetners, (never liked them, would rather just not have sweet as opposed to haveing artificial)
SO I am gonna go now and see what Ilearn about this stevia stuff.
 

Marguerite

Active Member
I'm glad you finally got unstuck, Dreamer.

I'm still having trouble with my scales - according to them, my weight is all over the place. For a while it looked like I was losing a pound a day, but then I checked on the doctor's scales and found I was two kilos heavier than I thought. husband weighed himself too, just to compare, and he said the doctor's scales were accurate. And he checks his weight where he works, because he's got some really good, very accurate scales there for weighing all the deliveries.

However, although the scales are keeping secrets from me, my jeans are getting looser, so I can only assume that I am still losing weight.

Do you want my oat-free muesli recipe? I'm finding it really helps. And if I get hungry at other times of the day, such as late at night, I know I can help myself to another serve and it doesn't seem to count, in the day's tally. by the way, one serve is about three quarters of a cup, plus milk. The stuff is very filling but loaded with soluble fibre so it tends to go straight through. You can adapt the recipe a bit to your own taste, as well. And being rice-based, there's no gluten to worry about.

Marg
 

dreamer

New Member
THank you, yes, I think I might like to try your muesli. I am a little confused but very grateful, I am not seeming to feel very deprived, seldom am not feeing satisfied, not sure why. The kids keep on eating whatever it is they eat, and offering it to me, then feeling bad for eating it around me, but, for some reason, it does not bother me for me, altho it is bothering me more and more for their health.
I am still not at all sure my BG monitor is on target...am hoping my rheumy has one when I see him this week, and maybe we can check on mine and theirs and see how wrong mine might be. I keep hoping even if mine is wrong, that it still lets me know if sugar is going up or coming down etc. Same with my scale, I keep thinking even if mine is not correct, it might still be telling approx weight, and the trend, am I going down, staying the same, or gaining? I know my scale, my GPs scale, my rheumys scale, and the scale at Shriners ALL gave different weights. I also am not certain my blood pressure cuff is perfect and exact, it sat in my closet for a few years....gathering dust. I have double checked my BiPolar (BP) when out at stores etc, altho I know those are not known for accuracy, either....
SO I am mostly just hoping that at least I AM seeing things on my scale go down, on my BiPolar (BP) cuff go down and my bs stays at a nice level, now. So far the one thing that made my bs rise more than I wanted was pasta. That broke my heart, and I even used whole wheat pasta....we love pasta at my house.
What has really pleased me is that according to my scale today, and I think today might be one month (tho I would have to look at my journal) it appears I might be down a whopping 16 pounds! WOW! That blows my mind! My BiPolar (BP) now has not gone above 114/78 in awhile------not since the first week I began all this! (My mom and my dtr both have high BiPolar (BP), and I always had 120/80 to 128/82 except I tend to go higher AT docs offices)

Yesterday I dropped a can on my foot, got nervous as it was falling that it might break a bone in my foot, the osteo associated with pred and all.....well, I DO have a wicked looking nasty bruise, but, the bone did not break, even tho the edge of the large can hit on a can edge directly to the bone in foot going to big toe. Whew!

My measurements do not seem to be changeing according to tape measure, BUT I do notice my clothes fit quite differently. Not sure whats up with that, LOL.
I ran some chickpeas and fresh garlic and fresh lemon juice in food processor yesterday with the tiniest amount of olive oil.....added 1 tablespoon of that to some steamed broccolli for my dinner.
Finally got around to trying a different vinegar....balsamic? I am not sure I liked that one as much as the others.

Really funny, I was watching a little Food Network this weekend, and for a change, they did a LOT of veg meals and healthier choices etc.
I bought some stevia with FOS last week, but have not yet tried it. Have not had a taste for anything sweet, LOL. Yesterday, tho I did use my cappucino maker to steam and froth a little bit of nonfat milk to put a dollop in my cinnamined coffee (no longer sugar in it, tho.....)

Most of what I have read talks about not telling myself I cannot EVER have certain foods......becuz with care, there might be times I might be able to work those foods in.....so, I guess I am now thinking oh, maybe later, um...I had thought when I hit 10 pounds down, I might celebrate with a half scoop of ice cream? But I found when I did hit 10 pounds down, I had no interest in the treat at that time. I had thought when I hit 15 pounds down maybe we might go out to dinner again, or order in pizza, but.....when my scale said that day before yesterday, I had no desire to order in pizza or go out.
We DID go out to steak and shake for my sons birthday saturday, but nothing on the menu caught my fancy, so I simply had lettuce. LOL. His cake held NO interest at all for me, none.
So, this is all surprising me. I am finding I look forward to my new found vegs and special recipes with my vegs, greens legumes, and herbs. I actually like my flax cereal a lot..LOL.

I am also very grateful my flareing seems to have settled down. Maybe it was related to female hormones..I had quite a bit of difficulty recently.....maybe it was reated to weather, which has also calmed down for the moment.....maybe it was related to the efforts to try to reduce prednisone a little .....but, gave up on that dureing the flare. I am hoping to be able to kick up the activity level some more, now- if the flareing stays away.
Even if my own garden will not produce the yeilds I desire, i am still excited about the fresh produce local coming very soon. (Yes, I live in a rural farming area)
 

Marguerite

Active Member
OK, here's the muesli recipe. It is still being adapted, but I find this works for me. Play with it a bit, be prepared to add more or less, depending on quality of ingredients. I make this up in a large plastic container (about 2 litre capacity) and have a one cup ramekin, or rice bowl, instead of a normal cereal bowl. This stuff is filling, you don't need as much of it.

You need to find - rolled BROWN rice, puffed brown rice, bran (rice bran if you can, to avoid the gluten), raisins/sultanas or other dried fruit, nuts of your choice (I use walnuts). Remember, sultanas are small seedless grapes, dried. They are smaller than raisins but larger than currants.

Quantities - the rolled brown rice is hard to chew, but put in as much as you can tolerate. The puffed brown rice can vary a lot in quality, this also changes the density and sog-ability, so again, vary. If it sogs up fast and you don't like it soggy, pour milk right before you eat it, and eat fast. Then either use less next time or try to find another brand of the stuff.

Marg's Oat Free Muesli

150 g rolled brown rice (about half a cup)
350 g puffed brown rice (about 3-4 cups)
2 cups unprocessed bran
1 cup sultanas (or other small pieces of dried fruit)
1 cup walnuts, broken in small pieces. whatever nuts you use - they need to be chopped up smallish, so they distribute evenly through the muesli.

Also possible to add - sunflower seeds, linseed, sesame seed. But not too much - seeds also put fat in the cereal. You can also get LSA, which is ground almond, linseed and sesame, and this can be added as well for a healthy boost. Very liver cleansing, according to the fad diet books. Tastes good - you can also put LSA in shakes but it does make them rather 'bitty'. Sprinkle it on a salad or use it to crumb schnitzel. The kids would enjoy that too.

The muesli recipe is based on one the hospital dieticians gave me when I had difficult child 3. I lost a lot of weight back then, before I became intolerant to the oats in their recipe. So it should be a fairly healthy one.

Marg
 

dreamer

New Member
Marg, the meusli does sound good! I am heading out to grocery later today. I have been haveing a little LSA usually stirred in at brkfst.
I got an ABlounger at a garage sale, and used that yesterday.
LOL, I noticed yesterday I AM shrinking inside my skin, my skin is much looser, LOL. Do you think if I take a super hot shower and dry myself on high, my skin might shrink up some so I can more easily see the loss? JUST KIDDING! LOL.
Had a couple mishaps yesterday. Burned my finger, but rather than burning, it affected it rather oddly...the skin is NOT red or blistery, but the tendon got all stiff. Darn, it is on my knife hand for chopping my veggies, LOL. Minor inconvenience. My fingers are starting to be sore from the blood sugar testing, tho. :-(
I started to feel dizzy, lite headed, nauseaus in the afternoon yesterday, checked blood sugar and it was 55. Wound up breaking down, had 1/3 can of ginger ale. It helped.
And my toe that I thought was okay decided it might not be so ok after all, darn. So, getting up and down the stairs as an exercise is not going very well at the moment. So I have been doing a LOT of hyperactive wiggliness where ever I am sitting or whatever I am doing. LOL. It gives the kids the giggles.

Yesterday I was standing in kitchen, raised my arms up to change a lite bulb in ceiling fixture, and..ROFL! My pants slid down! I did not realize they had become quite that loose!
 

scent of cedar

New Member
Change is so hard. We throw ourselves all kinds of curve balls along the way to try to get ourselves to go back to the old, comforting patterns. But when we think it through, we realize those comfortable old patterns only seem comfortable because we are looking back on them.

Think about it.

Even for me with my smoking, I THINK I was more comfortable then because I am not in a place of fear about what is going to happen next when I think about the past.

Just an interesting little observation I was making to myself, this morning.

It almost seems that our old habits double their efforts to ensnare us again, the closer we are truly to changing them forever.

:)

Barbara
 

Marguerite

Active Member
It's also a matter of mind-set. If you have the occasional lapse, don't beat yourself up about it. Just leave it and move on. If your diet has been going for long enough and the lapses are infrequent, your body may not notice anyway. And any weight it makes you put on - the diet will take it off again, faster (if it's only just gone back on, especially).

Needing a small sugar hit for a possible hypo is no big deal. You dealt with what you felt you needed at that moment. Then it's time to get back on the horse again, maybe try to manage it a bit better for next time by keeping your complex carbs up a little more instead.

I know I say I cut right back on carbs. But that's me, based on my knowledge of my body. For you, it could be far too much cutback.

I had to giggle about your loose pants, Dreamer. My jeans have finally got so loose that I'm having to stop wearing them. I headed for the op shop yesterday (it's only open on Tuesday mornings) to buy a belt, but the place was shut. Blast! I had brought a school envelope of difficult child 3's with me so I continued down into the village to post it (I was on wheels, I can't walk that far - not yet, maybe not ever). While there I checked out a fairly new shop we have - a hairdresser's who is also selling clothing. But the only belts she had were not only unsuitable, they were too small. I mean, I can't garden in diamante buckle snakeskin, no matter how cheap it is! I'd be losing bits of belt all through the garden.
As happens in our village, I had a long chat to the lady in the shop, until a customer came in about half an hour later. She gave me an idea - go through my wardrobe looking for the leggings, the stretch pants, etc that I've buried "in case I ever lose enough weight so they don't look so ridiculous" and found a few things, including another pair of jeans slightly smaller. The elastic belt I borrows from mother in law is too big for these jeans, and I know they'll also be loose so I must buy a belt when I can (cheap and nasty, if possible - emphasis on "cheap"). But I found another pair of trousers that I bought cheap and have never properly fitted into - but now they're LOOSE! White coarse linen/cotton, drawstring. In my rummaging I found a sailor polo shirt so I've teamed them together - my new look. For now.

Somewhere in there, I also have a large t-shirt labelled "physically phht" which I hope to find.

About your toe - sounds like you could have bruised the bone. What about if you pad your foot a bit? Maybe thick wool socks? Or my favourite - ugg boots? Maybe the weather is too warm for uggs (just right, for me). Or are you concerned about infection?

A suggestion for first aid - works for infection as well as to promote healing - soak your foot every three hours in water as hot as you can stand it. Have the kettle nearby to top up the water as it cools. By allowing the blood vessels in your foot to dilate from the warmth, it should boost blood flow hence oxygen supply hence healing. Massage is also good, if you can do it - massage across the top of your foot towards the heart, in long strokes with your fingers. It boosts lymphatic circulation returning to the heart to cleanse the injury toxins and also promote healing. But it could still be sore for a couple of weeks. Then do what you can (exercise-wise) but don't fret about what you can't. You'll get back to it as you can.

Hope it eases soon.

Marg
 

dreamer

New Member
Well, I have not posted to this in awhile, LOL- thats cuz so little has changed. My weight seems still to be pretty stuck....got paast being stuck long enough to drop a couple more pounds, and then got stuck again. Grand total so far is 19 pounds gone....nothing new lost now in well over a week, closer to 2 weeks.
I continue the rigid eating style. In some ways that is getting easier, in some ways it is getting harder. I am more used to it, now....but the reality of forever is sinking in. Well, I was holding well until yesterday and the bomb scare-elec out at PCs school and her college prep issues. I wound up backsliding and made chocolate chip cookies- (my fallback when over stressed- BAKEING them is the favorite part----usually we give them away, but- I ATE some yesterday, yeesh, LOL) and then to top it off, I backslid further and made chili mac for dinner. Yeesh. But today I am back on track. :) I made it thru 2 of the kids birthdays and dinner out for both and managed to adhere.....oh well.
I continue to keep a close monitoring on everything- the blood pressure, blood sugar weight etc.
With the nicer weather I have been outside building physical strength and stamina- and doing yard work etc.
Yesterday my rheumetologist called, he said my liver enzymes have come down to better levels- altho we did not check triglyerides or A1C at last visit yet. My sed rate remains high---but that has been high for several years. Nothing has ever changed that so far.
This week my wedding engagement and anniversary and Mothers rings all fell off. LOL- I met THAT with mixed emotion. Good to know my weight is down enough for it to happen, LOL- scary cuz I do not want to lose them, weird cuz I had to have them cut off a few years ago and it took me a few years to save up to have them repaired---guess I will revert to yarn tied around the bands to make them smaller, LOL. I also broke down and got a new pair of jeans, only 1 pair....MUCH MUCH smaller. and one pair of shorts. (Maybe I already posted about those?)

SO- I am pleased my liver enzymes are better-----am holding tight to keep at my new ways of eating etc. My fingers ARE getting callused from the finger sticks, but.....I am doing good. Holding my own, anway, with good spirits. :)
 

Marguerite

Active Member
It's still good news, even if you don't seem to notice any weight coming off. The rings falling off is a good sign. The liver enzymes being down is even better. The sed rate (ESR, over here) is undoubtedly up because of your lupus, but it's not a problem in itself, just a symptom of inflammatory processes being currently active.

Your rings - I remember seeing someone in my family wearing a ring that the jeweller had put a small strip of metal, like a spring, on the inside of the ring part. It looked to me like it was made of surgical steel (for the springiness) and would have been a cheaper option to getting a ring made smaller. They sort of snap on, and help hold the ring on your finger if it's only a couple of sizes too small. It might be something you could look into, anyway. They should be really cheap, like buying a packet of spare hooks for pierced earrings.

Don't fret too much about the binge. It's maybe more of a worry that you were able to eat when stressed, because that indicates something that won't change even after the diet, unless you can put some strategies in place as alternatives to eating, next time there's a similar scare.

Nineteen pounds gone is about where I'm up to now. And I'm still waiting for my engagement ring to loosen up enough. It's almost been at the "quick, cut it off!" stage and even now my hand looks puffy on both sides of the ring. I have another ring which I haven't been able to wear for about 20 years. I can't get it resized because the design is complex and goes all the way around. Maybe if I lose enough weight for my wedding/engagement rings to come off, I'll be able to get this other ring on?

I can hope.

Marg
 
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