CAN'T Give up CANDY!!!!
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i get what people are saying about it being part of daily caloric intake. but they have little to no nutritional value. it's not just a case of being under caloric intake per se, it's what you're putting in to your body that is gonna make the biggest changes. it's hard to train yourself to stop eating stuff like that but it's doable. like when you at first can't stand coffee with no sugar in coz you're used to having 2. reduce to 1, then to half, then to none and eventually you won't like coffee with sugar!
i tend to have a handful of fruit gums or something whilst training; it causes insulin levels to spike which means more nutrients going to cells, increased amino acid utilisation etc so it's ok to have them then. but i'd try to avoid otherwise, or at least reduce.
yes, and no one is saying get 100% of your calories from candy.
What we are saying is that in the context of an overall diet where you are eating a different variety of foods there is noting wrong with eating nutrient dense foods AND some candy/ice cream, etc.
Yeah I get that which is why I mentioned nutritional value - you can have the odd cheat here and there, and it depends on your goals of course, but eating sweets on a regular basis isn't gonna help. Best to reduce, then cut out completely and then have as the odd treat. Otherwise you're just giving your body easy carb energy.0 -
i get what people are saying about it being part of daily caloric intake. but they have little to no nutritional value. it's not just a case of being under caloric intake per se, it's what you're putting in to your body that is gonna make the biggest changes. it's hard to train yourself to stop eating stuff like that but it's doable. like when you at first can't stand coffee with no sugar in coz you're used to having 2. reduce to 1, then to half, then to none and eventually you won't like coffee with sugar!
i tend to have a handful of fruit gums or something whilst training; it causes insulin levels to spike which means more nutrients going to cells, increased amino acid utilisation etc so it's ok to have them then. but i'd try to avoid otherwise, or at least reduce.
yes, and no one is saying get 100% of your calories from candy.
What we are saying is that in the context of an overall diet where you are eating a different variety of foods there is noting wrong with eating nutrient dense foods AND some candy/ice cream, etc.
Yeah I get that which is why I mentioned nutritional value - you can have the odd cheat here and there, and it depends on your goals of course, but eating sweets on a regular basis isn't gonna help. Best to reduce, then cut out completely and then have as the odd treat. Otherwise you're just giving your body easy carb energy.
ummm I eat ice cream every day, does that mean that I am "unhealthy?"
according to my blood work that answer is no, as it comes back nearly perfect every year. My body fat hovers in the 12-15% range depending on if I am cutting/bulking/maintaining....0 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »Docbanana2002 wrote: »can you stil allow that the person has a struggle and that it is meaningful to them and that they might need help? Or that some of the 12 step principles might be helpful for food related struggles too, even if they are less severe?
I think jumping to the conclusion that a poster who mentions eating anywhere from one kiss to one bag of Skittles a day has a struggle with moderation and would benefit from cutting it out entirely or the 12 steps is kind of extreme too. I mean, imagine if a poster said "I like to have a glass of wine with dinner most nights, is that compatible with weight loss" and the response was "NO!" and "go to AA." And unlike "candy addiction," there actually is good evidence that a certain percentage of people are alcoholics.
I do think that some people have issues with food where cutting things out for a while or controlling how they eat them can help, but the assumption that people can't control themselves with sweets is not always warranted and the one-size-fits-all advice to just cut out sweets entirely gets tiresome.
Yeah, I agree with you on that. I edited my post to clarify that I don't think OP has this type of struggle. I'm going to assume that the "bag" of skittles is just a little vending machine portion as others seem to think... I (and perhaps others) initially thought she meant a whole 54oz bag like you can buy at the store. Massive candy eating binge. I assumed that because the OP seemed to think this was an unstoppable behavior that caused lots of weight gain. A little bag of vending machine skittles here and there in the context of a healthy diet is quite normal and by itself shouldn't lead to weight gain unless the overall calories aren't being kept in check.
Still, there is a general issue with this on the MFP boards. So many people post about struggles with binge eating or compulsive behavior regarding food and get beat up about it as if they should just snap out of it, it isn't like they have a REAL addiction.0 -
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lemurcat12 wrote: »Docbanana2002 wrote: »can you stil allow that the person has a struggle and that it is meaningful to them and that they might need help? Or that some of the 12 step principles might be helpful for food related struggles too, even if they are less severe?
I think jumping to the conclusion that a poster who mentions eating anywhere from one kiss to one bag of Skittles a day has a struggle with moderation and would benefit from cutting it out entirely or the 12 steps is kind of extreme too. I mean, imagine if a poster said "I like to have a glass of wine with dinner most nights, is that compatible with weight loss" and the response was "NO!" and "go to AA." And unlike "candy addiction," there actually is good evidence that a certain percentage of people are alcoholics.
I do think that some people have issues with food where cutting things out for a while or controlling how they eat them can help, but the assumption that people can't control themselves with sweets is not always warranted and the one-size-fits-all advice to just cut out sweets entirely gets tiresome.
So much this. I wonder if people are even reading what she wrote. She didn't say she binge eats the candy, which if that was the case, then I would be more inclined to agree with the advice that some severe restriction may be necessary in order to learn to control the urges. She said she eats candy every day and that she has gained 6 lbs. 6 POUNDS and that she wants to lose it to look better for summer.
This is not someone who needs to be advised that sugar is addictive (which it is not) and who need to severely restrict all sweets. This is someone who needs to accurately log her foods and figure out where she can make cuts of about 250 cals/ dat in order to lose half a pound per week.
Seriously people. Not every thread needs to turn into a sugar is evil/no it's not fight.
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Haha everyone getting shirty. I haven't said sugar is evil, people need to go and read where I said I have some sweets whilst I am training. I have some myself at other times.
But the OP has put 6lbs on and eats sweets a lot and wants to lose it. Common sense is to reduce it or cut it out if they wanna lose it again, don't you think? If you wanna cut you gotta lose body fat. If you wanna lose body fat then reduce unnecessary carb intake such as sweets. End of.
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Don't stress about it. If it's not a binge trigger (which is a separate problem), like the others have said, eat it, log it, move on. I have at least one Dove chocolate square most days. Or one Mieszko espresso-filled chocolate. Or one Godiva dark chocolate raspberry filled truffle. And they're all about 50 calories each. A mini Reese's peanut butter cup is, if I recall correctly, 81 calories.
It can take me a couple of minutes to eat one piece of candy now, and I savor the experience and enjoy the flavor. I lot it, and move on.
I found that the minute I said, "You may not have XX", nothing would do but to have XX. So now I say, "Sure, you may have XX. What are the consequences? Do you still want it? If so, have it."0 -
Haha everyone getting shirty. I haven't said sugar is evil, people need to go and read where I said I have some sweets whilst I am training. I have some myself at other times.
But the OP has put 6lbs on and eats sweets a lot and wants to lose it. Common sense is to reduce it or cut it out if they wanna lose it again, don't you think? If you wanna cut you gotta lose body fat. If you wanna lose body fat then reduce unnecessary carb intake such as sweets. End of.
or just eat less of EVERYTHING..
if you want to reduce body fat you eat less calories, carb intake has nothing to do with it; unless of course your carb intake is putting you in a surplus.
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I buy candy at the bulk food store, weight it and portion it into little 100calorie containers.
Then I work it into my daily goals.
I adore sour keys!0 -
Docbanana2002 wrote: »Still, there is a general issue with this on the MFP boards. So many people post about struggles with binge eating or compulsive behavior regarding food and get beat up about it as if they should just snap out of it, it isn't like they have a REAL addiction.
Well, it's not an addiction.
I don't think they should just "snap out of it." I think they need a strategy and that for some people that might involve avoiding certain foods for a while, but thinking of it as an addiction doesn't help.
For example, I've seen people say they are "candy addicts" (or the like) because they take one of those giant bags of skittles (or some other such thing) and eat out of it when watching TV and disappoint themselves because they don't get full and stop after a serving. Well, of course not, but that's not because they are "addicted," it's because they are human. Simply teaching yourself to measure out a portion and put the bag away is enough to help some people. (Similar to those who wonder how to avoid overeating at dinner--put on the plate the amount your want to eat, put away the food, and tell yourself no seconds.)
Others have more complicated issues--emotional eating or a habit of eating at certain times or in certain places that feels overwhelming. Others may have a pattern established where they eat a carby breakfast, have a crash, need energy so snack on something sweet and go up and down like this all day. There are millions of possibilities and I think people here are able and willing to help.
Simply deciding you are hopeless because an "addict" or must cut out all foods you love seems to me a premature reaction until getting the specifics of what the struggle is.
I don't blame people who decide they are "addicted" (which of course OP did not), as there's all sorts of garbage all over the internet and in diet culture generally about this "addiction" model these days, re sugar or all carbs especially. It's irritating, and that's why I get annoyed at those who seem to want to go immediately to "you must cut it out or binge." I actually did cut some stuff out for a while (and think that was helpful for specific reasons), but I find that I can moderate and I think most can if it's approached properly and strategically. Yet some posters keep insisting that if you eat any sugar you are unhealthy or going to binge or such nonsense.0 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »Docbanana2002 wrote: »Still, there is a general issue with this on the MFP boards. So many people post about struggles with binge eating or compulsive behavior regarding food and get beat up about it as if they should just snap out of it, it isn't like they have a REAL addiction.
Well, it's not an addiction.
I don't think they should just "snap out of it." I think they need a strategy and that for some people that might involve avoiding certain foods for a while, but thinking of it as an addiction doesn't help.
Simply deciding you are hopeless because an "addict" or must cut out all foods you love seems to me a premature reaction until getting the specifics of what the struggle is.
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This is the point
Allowing people to define it as an addiction when it's not makes them not responsible for their actions and gives them a raft of excuses...and there is no way to help someone with that mindset
Taking responsibility is important in taking control of your weight and health0 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »Docbanana2002 wrote: »Still, there is a general issue with this on the MFP boards. So many people post about struggles with binge eating or compulsive behavior regarding food and get beat up about it as if they should just snap out of it, it isn't like they have a REAL addiction.
Well, it's not an addiction.
I don't think they should just "snap out of it." I think they need a strategy and that for some people that might involve avoiding certain foods for a while, but thinking of it as an addiction doesn't help.
For example, I've seen people say they are "candy addicts" (or the like) because they take one of those giant bags of skittles (or some other such thing) and eat out of it when watching TV and disappoint themselves because they don't get full and stop after a serving. Well, of course not, but that's not because they are "addicted," it's because they are human. Simply teaching yourself to measure out a portion and put the bag away is enough to help some people. (Similar to those who wonder how to avoid overeating at dinner--put on the plate the amount your want to eat, put away the food, and tell yourself no seconds.)
Others have more complicated issues--emotional eating or a habit of eating at certain times or in certain places that feels overwhelming. Others may have a pattern established where they eat a carby breakfast, have a crash, need energy so snack on something sweet and go up and down like this all day. There are millions of possibilities and I think people here are able and willing to help.
Simply deciding you are hopeless because an "addict" or must cut out all foods you love seems to me a premature reaction until getting the specifics of what the struggle is.
I don't blame people who decide they are "addicted" (which of course OP did not), as there's all sorts of garbage all over the internet and in diet culture generally about this "addiction" model these days, re sugar or all carbs especially. It's irritating, and that's why I get annoyed at those who seem to want to go immediately to "you must cut it out or binge." I actually did cut some stuff out for a while (and think that was helpful for specific reasons), but I find that I can moderate and I think most can if it's approached properly and strategically. Yet some posters keep insisting that if you eat any sugar you are unhealthy or going to binge or such nonsense.
cosign0 -
Russel Stovers has great sugar free candy. I eat a piece when I need a fix. Example : individually wrapped turtles, toffee squares, chocolate covered coconut. Don't overdo it.0
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Chrysalid2014 wrote: »BlueSkyShoal wrote: »I have trouble eating candy in moderation. Sometimes I can manage it, but usually I end up eating more than I planned to. So I do tend to not buy it much. There's nothing wrong with avoiding a food that's giving you problems or that you tend to cave around.
Like, it's great to have a dog that's well-trained enough to daintily step over a pungent dead squirrel instead of rolling in it, but what's wrong with seeing the dead squirrel, turning around, and crossing the street? Especially if the dog training is a work in progress.
Surely there is no such dog!
Still I like your analogy. And the farther away you can spot the dead squirrel, the easier it will be to lure the dog away. But once he gets a sniff of it, he's gonna be pulling like hell on that leash and you might not be able to hold him...
Like it very much!
So, how to spot a dead squirrel from 200m, is the question....
You are avoiding certain questions and agreeing with the comments you like. And why is it that your group only has been jumping on posts saying people are addicted or that moderation by some members is then saying the eat junk all day? Why have you guys been ignoring the actual moderation posts explaining what they mean but instead take to trashing them in your group instead?
Oh, have you been off visiting? How nice... Did you see the Gollum gif? I had a particularly good chuckle at that one.
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Haha everyone getting shirty. I haven't said sugar is evil, people need to go and read where I said I have some sweets whilst I am training. I have some myself at other times.
But the OP has put 6lbs on and eats sweets a lot and wants to lose it. Common sense is to reduce it or cut it out if they wanna lose it again, don't you think? If you wanna cut you gotta lose body fat. If you wanna lose body fat then reduce unnecessary carb intake such as sweets. End of.
or just eat less of EVERYTHING..
if you want to reduce body fat you eat less calories, carb intake has nothing to do with it; unless of course your carb intake is putting you in a surplus.
Which sweets more than likely are.
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Stop buying candy0
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Haha everyone getting shirty. I haven't said sugar is evil, people need to go and read where I said I have some sweets whilst I am training. I have some myself at other times.
But the OP has put 6lbs on and eats sweets a lot and wants to lose it. Common sense is to reduce it or cut it out if they wanna lose it again, don't you think? If you wanna cut you gotta lose body fat. If you wanna lose body fat then reduce unnecessary carb intake such as sweets. End of.
or just eat less of EVERYTHING..
if you want to reduce body fat you eat less calories, carb intake has nothing to do with it; unless of course your carb intake is putting you in a surplus.
Which sweets more than likely are.
On what do you base that?
It's not hard to eat sweets and still stay under your carb macro. Heck, I even had a completely unplanned cookie yesterday and was still at 134 of 175 carbs (way over on fat for other reasons, under on calories).0 -
Haha everyone getting shirty. I haven't said sugar is evil, people need to go and read where I said I have some sweets whilst I am training. I have some myself at other times.
But the OP has put 6lbs on and eats sweets a lot and wants to lose it. Common sense is to reduce it or cut it out if they wanna lose it again, don't you think? If you wanna cut you gotta lose body fat. If you wanna lose body fat then reduce unnecessary carb intake such as sweets. End of.
or just eat less of EVERYTHING..
if you want to reduce body fat you eat less calories, carb intake has nothing to do with it; unless of course your carb intake is putting you in a surplus.
Which sweets more than likely are.
Nope. That's an assumption. You are are making assumptions on how people lose weight and what they have to do.
Not really. Man I am getting bored of repeating myself here. For the final time, pay attention, are you ready?
The OP said they can't stop eating sweets.
Doesn't take a genius to work out what MAY not be helping diet wise.0 -
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The OP said they can't stop eating sweets.
No, she didn't. She said: "I absolutely love [candy], I probably have at least 1 piece of candy a day (anywhere from literally 1 hershey kiss to a bag of skittles). Does anyone have any tips for losing weight while still having the candy/ how I can incorporate the candy into my weight loss, or any awesome alternatives to candies??"
As an aside, awesome alternatives to candies=berries, IMO, since I didn't answer that before.
IF OP is accurately stating her candy intake, that's not the issue. She should log and see what her calories are and what the average calories of the candy is. Then, she should figure out if the candy is in significant enough amounts to be responsible for the weight gain (a kiss is not, a small bag of skittles probably is not unless she's otherwise at maintenance and can't see anything else to cut). Since she wants to keep the candy and has described pretty reasonable amounts, finding some other thing to cut and eat at maintenance (or slightly below, so she can lose the 6 lbs) seems like a good and sustainable solution.
If she's really eating lots more and finds that cutting back is not possible for some reason, THEN you could say that she can't stop eating candy, but it's so interesting that people read that into her post when she never said that.
To me the post seemed much more like the common "I ate a gummi bear, will my diet fail?!" posts--the idea that even tiny amounts of sweets somehow act as fat pills making it impossible for you to lose regardless of calories.0 -
Haha everyone getting shirty. I haven't said sugar is evil, people need to go and read where I said I have some sweets whilst I am training. I have some myself at other times.
But the OP has put 6lbs on and eats sweets a lot and wants to lose it. Common sense is to reduce it or cut it out if they wanna lose it again, don't you think? If you wanna cut you gotta lose body fat. If you wanna lose body fat then reduce unnecessary carb intake such as sweets. End of.
or just eat less of EVERYTHING..
if you want to reduce body fat you eat less calories, carb intake has nothing to do with it; unless of course your carb intake is putting you in a surplus.
Which sweets more than likely are.
Nope. That's an assumption. You are are making assumptions on how people lose weight and what they have to do.
Not really. Man I am getting bored of repeating myself here. For the final time, pay attention, are you ready?
The OP said they can't stop eating sweets.
Doesn't take a genius to work out what MAY not be helping diet wise.
And at the same time have made statements about everyone in general needing to not eat sweets on a regular basis if they want to drop the fat they want but at the same time there have been people in this thread alone that said they do eat it in a regular basis and hit their goals but yet you ignore that fact.
No, just not advocating including sweets in a diet. As an odd treat yeah. As part of a lifestyle and diet no. Have you ever seen any serious training guide suggest sweets as part of a daily diet? I haven't.
But each to their own.0 -
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Haha everyone getting shirty. I haven't said sugar is evil, people need to go and read where I said I have some sweets whilst I am training. I have some myself at other times.
But the OP has put 6lbs on and eats sweets a lot and wants to lose it. Common sense is to reduce it or cut it out if they wanna lose it again, don't you think? If you wanna cut you gotta lose body fat. If you wanna lose body fat then reduce unnecessary carb intake such as sweets. End of.
or just eat less of EVERYTHING..
if you want to reduce body fat you eat less calories, carb intake has nothing to do with it; unless of course your carb intake is putting you in a surplus.
Which sweets more than likely are.
Nope. That's an assumption. You are are making assumptions on how people lose weight and what they have to do.
Not really. Man I am getting bored of repeating myself here. For the final time, pay attention, are you ready?
The OP said they can't stop eating sweets.
Doesn't take a genius to work out what MAY not be helping diet wise.
And at the same time have made statements about everyone in general needing to not eat sweets on a regular basis if they want to drop the fat they want but at the same time there have been people in this thread alone that said they do eat it in a regular basis and hit their goals but yet you ignore that fact.
No, just not advocating including sweets in a diet. As an odd treat yeah. As part of a lifestyle and diet no. Have you ever seen any serious training guide suggest sweets as part of a daily diet? I haven't.
But each to their own.
strange I eat ice cream every day and my blood work is nearly perfect and I am about 12-15% body fat…
how did that happen???0 -
Haha everyone getting shirty. I haven't said sugar is evil, people need to go and read where I said I have some sweets whilst I am training. I have some myself at other times.
But the OP has put 6lbs on and eats sweets a lot and wants to lose it. Common sense is to reduce it or cut it out if they wanna lose it again, don't you think? If you wanna cut you gotta lose body fat. If you wanna lose body fat then reduce unnecessary carb intake such as sweets. End of.
or just eat less of EVERYTHING..
if you want to reduce body fat you eat less calories, carb intake has nothing to do with it; unless of course your carb intake is putting you in a surplus.
Which sweets more than likely are.
Nope. That's an assumption. You are are making assumptions on how people lose weight and what they have to do.
Not really. Man I am getting bored of repeating myself here. For the final time, pay attention, are you ready?
The OP said they can't stop eating sweets.
Doesn't take a genius to work out what MAY not be helping diet wise.
And at the same time have made statements about everyone in general needing to not eat sweets on a regular basis if they want to drop the fat they want but at the same time there have been people in this thread alone that said they do eat it in a regular basis and hit their goals but yet you ignore that fact.
No, just not advocating including sweets in a diet. As an odd treat yeah. As part of a lifestyle and diet no. Have you ever seen any serious training guide suggest sweets as part of a daily diet? I haven't.
But each to their own.
Have you ever seen any serious training guides that spew tons of nonsense?
Have you ever seen how many of us were able to achieve our goals while still having sweets in our diet?
Have you ever visited my ice cream group on the site?
his profile states he "eats clean" so lost cause here...0 -
I know for me, the only way to avoid eating things like candy and potato chips is not to buy them. At all. Ever. I always keep apples in my house, and those seem to help keep candy cravings at bay.0
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Haha everyone getting shirty. I haven't said sugar is evil, people need to go and read where I said I have some sweets whilst I am training. I have some myself at other times.
But the OP has put 6lbs on and eats sweets a lot and wants to lose it. Common sense is to reduce it or cut it out if they wanna lose it again, don't you think? If you wanna cut you gotta lose body fat. If you wanna lose body fat then reduce unnecessary carb intake such as sweets. End of.
or just eat less of EVERYTHING..
if you want to reduce body fat you eat less calories, carb intake has nothing to do with it; unless of course your carb intake is putting you in a surplus.
Which sweets more than likely are.
Nope. That's an assumption. You are are making assumptions on how people lose weight and what they have to do.
Not really. Man I am getting bored of repeating myself here. For the final time, pay attention, are you ready?
The OP said they can't stop eating sweets.
Doesn't take a genius to work out what MAY not be helping diet wise.
And at the same time have made statements about everyone in general needing to not eat sweets on a regular basis if they want to drop the fat they want but at the same time there have been people in this thread alone that said they do eat it in a regular basis and hit their goals but yet you ignore that fact.
No, just not advocating including sweets in a diet. As an odd treat yeah. As part of a lifestyle and diet no. Have you ever seen any serious training guide suggest sweets as part of a daily diet? I haven't.
But each to their own.
strange I eat ice cream every day and my blood work is nearly perfect and I am about 12-15% body fat…
how did that happen???
@ndj1979 regular detoxing
*nods*0 -
Haha everyone getting shirty. I haven't said sugar is evil, people need to go and read where I said I have some sweets whilst I am training. I have some myself at other times.
But the OP has put 6lbs on and eats sweets a lot and wants to lose it. Common sense is to reduce it or cut it out if they wanna lose it again, don't you think? If you wanna cut you gotta lose body fat. If you wanna lose body fat then reduce unnecessary carb intake such as sweets. End of.
or just eat less of EVERYTHING..
if you want to reduce body fat you eat less calories, carb intake has nothing to do with it; unless of course your carb intake is putting you in a surplus.
Which sweets more than likely are.
Nope. That's an assumption. You are are making assumptions on how people lose weight and what they have to do.
Not really. Man I am getting bored of repeating myself here. For the final time, pay attention, are you ready?
The OP said they can't stop eating sweets.
Doesn't take a genius to work out what MAY not be helping diet wise.
And at the same time have made statements about everyone in general needing to not eat sweets on a regular basis if they want to drop the fat they want but at the same time there have been people in this thread alone that said they do eat it in a regular basis and hit their goals but yet you ignore that fact.
No, just not advocating including sweets in a diet. As an odd treat yeah. As part of a lifestyle and diet no. Have you ever seen any serious training guide suggest sweets as part of a daily diet? I haven't.
But each to their own.
strange I eat ice cream every day and my blood work is nearly perfect and I am about 12-15% body fat…
how did that happen???
Haha good for you! Doubt you know what 12% body fat looks like! Think what you want, eat what you want. Sweets have little to no nutritional value.0
This discussion has been closed.
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