Nutritarian New Year!
Mihani
Posts: 4,123 Member
Figured I'd go with the traditional New Year thread title. I am definitely getting back on track this month, the past couple months haven't been good. Stress eating and no exercise and it definitely shows in how tight my clothes are fitting, my general lack of energy, etc. I keep reminding myself how great I feel when I am eating right and exercising.
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year!
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Happy New Year!!!
I hope and pray I have the discipline to make it a Nutritarian NY! Wishing you all the best of success with this as well. A healthy diet has such a huge impact on quality of life.
While I managed to avoid the virus Joe had over Christmas, we both ended up catching a cold from his dad. Hoping it doesn't last too long.
Here's a crazy piece of art I made. Doing a lot of experimentation right now.
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Very cool Carla! Love your artwork.
Off to a decent start. I am easing into it a bit. Eating lots of veggies, fruit, beans, nuts. Avoiding starches. Still super busy at work, brought home quite a bit to do tonight so as soon as I eat I'll get on that.
B - smoothie (almond milk, amazing grass, chia seeds, 1 T brewer's yeast, 1/2 frozen banana)
L - leftover black eyed peas and cabbage
D - same as lunch
S - small handful of raw almonds, apple
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Hi all and Happy New Year! It has been a super long time since I checked in with the group. So much has changed! I think the last time I checked in I was struggling with a lot of pressures and was pretty stressed out. I was stuck in a pretty crappy job, trying to get my MBA (which I wasn't sure I wanted) and stressed about whether I wanted to get my CPA. My eating pretty much spiraled out of control and I pretty much fell off the map. This past summer everything seemed to hit rock bottom at work and I decided I needed to get out of the group I was working in. It had become a completely toxic environment with low morale everywhere. I found a job in a completely different area and left the Accounting group to work in Quality Assurance. I spent two months being told what a terrible decision it was by my boss and her boss and that it was basically career suicide with the company. Thankfully, I had a lot of strong supporters in my family and friends and I stayed the course and made the switch. In October I started working for a new group and my whole life started to change. The group is amazingly supportive, caring, funny, accepting and does an amazing job at recognizing hard work. I seriously feel like the luckiest person in the world getting to work with them. For the first time I feel like I am in the right place. All this time I thought I would simply make the best of the path life chose for me and be an Accountant, but, turns out that wasn't what I should be doing. Since changing jobs my MBA no longer feels like a noose around my neck, it is an opportunity that I am very much looking forward to completing this year. I finally feel like I can breathe again.
My new work group is also very focused on health and well being. Both mentally and physically. This means there is lots of support for working out, eating healthy and taking true vacation time (and not working on your vacation days). It has empowered me to start working out and get back to my eating. Last month I started getting back to my nutrition goals and today it dawned on me I got the best support for that here and why the heck hadn't I checked back in?!
Anyhow, looking forward to catching up with everyone! Hope everyone has been well!
Laura0 -
Hi Laura, great to see you! That's really amazing how well everything is turning out. It's so scary to make a leap and try something new, and sounds like you definitely made the right choice.0
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Up and down... still doing my smoothies for breakfast which seem to keep me full until lunchtime. They aren't strictly ETL since I add vegan protein powder. I had leftover black eyed peas and cabbage for lunch, I froze the rest, 4 days of eating it was enough. Today I got into a bag of curry cashews that I had bought for easy snacking, and it was way too easy. Ate too much of them. I have apples and clementines in the office fridge... so I'm going to stick with those no more nuts, too easy to overindulge.
Dinner is going to be a BIG salad with some black beans, onion, salsa. Skipping the avocado since I already more than got my fats in today with those darn cashews.
The next couple days are going to still be super busy, but I think by Saturday I will get to the treadmill and just make that a non-negotiable must do, like brushing my teeth. Gotta do it, every day!
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Yay thanks for starting the thread, Mihani!!! Great job with all the smoothies, I've gone back to them too. I generally like porridge in the winters, but smoothies are a nice way to get my greens in when I'm really not feeling like salads. I also got into some snacking nuts last night and went overboard lol.
Carla, OMG your artwork is unbelievable!!!!!! I love your stuff, you have such a good eye. I could never even start something like that. However, I DID paint my own nutcracker over the holidays lmao. That was kinda fun. I feel like a big kid, trying to stay in the lines. How is your NY start going?
Yay Laura, welcome back ! That is so so good to hear about your job too. I think so many people have misconstrued ideas about what job success is, and I really think happiness/good people are so important. Easier said than done. Glad you found some good coworkers though.
I am trying to get back into the swing of things too and am wanting some healthier things, but also eating a helluva lot of sugar. I need to limit that big time. I'm starting to feel the baby girl kicking finally! Also, I suddenly feel like a bit of a ball-shape lol. So strange...0 -
Happy New Year!
December was a gong show; I'm really glad it's over. And Mihani, I'm with you - my clothes all feel tight and I have no energy.
So upset with myself.
I've had smoothies for breakfast for the last 2 days. I'm going to spend a week or so getting my nutrition back in order, and then I'm going to make my treadmill non-negotiable too.
liapr - did you start to knit anything with your ball of yarn!! And congrats on the baby girl! You're going to be swimming in pink cuteness very soon!
I did make a couple of Christmas presents, a scarf and a cowl, but I was late on both of them... :sigh:
Right now I'm working on a pair of socks that are so much fun - I'm gonna love wearing them!!
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Wow Karrie, that's amazing!!!!! I can't even imagine doing a pattern like that?! Sadly, my yarn is in a closet somewhere lol. But thanks for reminding me. January is a lot less insane than December and I've started to get into baby mode a little more, so I think I'll pull it out and try along with some youtube videos! I tried to set up a registry this weekend... omg babies need so much! It's crazy.
On the plus, I'm sick of eating junk food finally lol. So maybe I will be a better ETL buddy in the coming weeks!0 -
Hi guys!
I'm working through my sickness and feeling like I'll make it through to the other side now! I think it was actually a flu because I had annoying hot and cold flashes, back and forth, especially when trying to sleep. There were a few days where I didn't accomplish anything. Like nothing...sat or slept and couldn't get into reading even. No fun. On the plus side, it took my appetite away and I haven't had any sweets in a while.
Karrie, I am jealous of your knitting abilities. I would love to be able to make socks & scarves for myself and my family. I love seeing what you make, please post more pics
I need to dig my treadmill out and start walking again. Ugh. It is in the corner of what became my art studio once it got cold. It is unplugged, jammed into the corner, and has about 2 tons of art supplies on it. Daunting! We are experiencing an unusually cold winter and the snow isn't melting quickly so walking around the property is treacherous right now.
It has been so long since I've eaten a proper ETL diet. I am tired of all of the failures and halfhearted attempts. You guys have inspired me with your smoothies, so this week I'm going to have a breakfast smoothie every morning and get back into that habit.
I said I'd post a pic of the commissioned painting I did for a friend of the family, but the picture they sent me was fuzzy and the painting was crooked lol. I don't think I took any of it other than a work in progress pic. I should know better!
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Hi all... sorry I've been MIA. Car trouble and work craziness and secretary on vacation. Still struggling a bit to stay at it. But I did order the new Engine 2 book and it arrived today. Looking forward to reading it. I like Rip, he's not a doctor so his books are a bit more fun, less technical than the good doctors (MacDougall, Fuhrman, Campbell, Rip's dad Esselstyn). Sometimes a new book kind of reinforces the health part of the vegan way for me, revives my enthusiasm for eating healthy. Some of the recipes look good too. I have work to do yet tonight so I'll catch up more later. Just wanted you to know I didn't fall off the face of the earth!0
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Hi all, I too have been MIA for way more than a year. The past month I have been logging again and of course the weight starts coming off. Lol eating right and exercising - the miracle cure!
But this week has been different: I actually did cut out the salt, as Dr. Fuhrman says and boy does that make a difference. Are you eating salt or are you all salt free? How do you manage when you eat out?
Gwen0 -
Hi all. I just love the threads on here.
As a menopausal, 51 year old, hanging on to maintenance (14+ years) by a thread, I decided my new years GOAL was going to be: eat more plants.
If you know me, you know I love the plants! But I'm committed to eating more plant based, eating much less red meat (I average once a week), and when choosing an animal protein, I'm going for fish.
I've also recommitted to running, which, with menopausal insomnia, got kicked to the curb more often than not.
Thanks for starting this thread!0 -
Checking in again. I hope that more frequent check-ins will help hold me accountable! I've been working on increasing my water and decreasing my coffee. Over the last week or so I've kept my coffee to just one cup in the morning. The only other thing I drink is water, but it seems sometimes like my body doesn't tell me when I'm thirsty and I'll go a long time without even thinking about having water.
Ugh, Mihani....sorry to hear about your car trouble! That is all you need with your busy schedule. I'm looking forward to hearing what you think about the Engine 2 book. I'm with you...once you have all of the technical info down, it is nice to read something a little more fun and breezy and still get re-inspired. I have one of Rip's books and at the time the recipes in it weren't strict ETL enough for me, but at this point they would be a huge improvement to my diet! I'm sure they can be modified a bit too. I don't remember what the problem was...maybe just too high in carbs at the time.
Welcome back, Gwen! After being off plan for a long time, I make my recipes with a low to normal amount of salt, just so that they are more appealing to my husband and I. How has cutting the salt made a difference for you? Does it make it easier to stay on plan or what is the benefit (aside from avoiding all that salt!). When I was on plan and eating out, we'd go to a few specific restaurants. We found a Vietnamese place that offered almost all of their dishes with a tofu option instead of meat and they have a lot of veggie stir fries with brown rice. We'd just take the hit on the salt for the day. It sure tasted extra delicious when we weren't used to it. We treated ourselves to 1 meal out a week and it worked for us.
Hi Sabine! I'm jealous of the running. I did the couch to 5k plan and it was so empowering. It really strengthened my lungs and I felt SO good! (aside from my knees...my knees started to hate me.) If it weren't for the knee issue, I would be running for sure. I've never experienced anything like it. And if you do it in the morning, you get that amazing runner's high (I've never had it with any other physical activity) that lasts all day. So yeah, jealous. Hard work but so worth it.
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Karrie, happy to see you, and love the new socks! You are so talented. You and Carla should open a shop together. How are the smoothies going?
How are you feeling Lia? The image of you sitting around knitting baby booties is just way too freaking cute!
Glad you are feeling better Carla. I haven’t had time to start on Rip’s book yet but will let you know. Awesome on cutting down on coffee. I have not got there yet, but I did get a box of turmeric ginger tea and have been having one cup a day. Supposed to be good for inflammation and I seem to have so many aches and pains lately.
Sabine great to see you! And I see you have landed yourself in jail again lol. You’re a repeat offender.
Welcome back Gwen, great to see you! Sounds like you are off to a great start.
I’m still in a whirlwind of work craziness that is keeping me from fully committing to eating right and exercising, but I’m doing better. Honestly I’m so busy I don’t have time to eat that much! But I want to get back to regular exercise. It helps in so many ways, the mental boost is as good as the physical benefits to me.
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Aww can totally see Lia knitting baby booties now thanks for the imagery, Mihani.
Off to a good start this morning with my water. One cup of coffee seems to be working for me.
I always want my meals to be super quick and easy, yet I really have to feel inspired to keep up the healthy eating habit. I'm scouring the internet for Instant Pot vegan Indian recipes to make. Today I'm trying a Chana Masala (chickpea curry) recipe. I'll let you all know how it goes.0 -
Carla I'm with you on the cooking thing... I love to cook but time is so limited lately when I'm even working weekends. But eating steamed veggies and brown rice all week isn't exactly exciting, and I need to stop eating things like hummus wraps and sandwiches so much. I like some of the recipes that Rip has in his book, I was skimming them last night and they seem very simple... and he has a list of "no recipe meals" for ideas of things to throw together. I think that's what I need to think about more, just what can I throw together and eat that is tasty and healthy, but not a big production. I would like to take time to cook a couple things on the weekends that will last a few days though. How did your chana masala turn out?
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Swinging through real quick! Day three of the whole family eating vegan dinners and so far they like everything! I have been following recipes from Clean Food Dirty Girl and they are delish! Tonight we had Curry Roasted Cauliflower with spinach and quinoa YUM! Gotta get back to studying, wanted to at least pop in and say say hi!0
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Wow, Laura, that is so great that the family is on board and enjoying the meals! That is half the battle. I will have to check out that recipe book. I just discovered the veganricha site and she has a post for 30 easy vegan weeknight dinner recipes: http://www.veganricha.com/2016/06/vegan-dinner-recipes.html.
Mihani, I am in love with that chana masala recipe! I wish I would have doubled it. I used the instant pot which made it incredibly easy, but if you have cooked chickpeas or use canned it should still be very easy without a pressure cooker. I used diced tomatoes with green chilies from a can instead of the fresh and instead of fresh chopped spinach I used a package I had in the freezer. I will try it at some point with fresh tomatoes and spinach but this came together fast and I really enjoyed it. Served it over rice. Her'es the link if you're interested: http://www.carveyourcraving.com/instant-pot-spinach-chana-masala-vegan-gluten-free/
I am going to work my way through the 30 recipes I linked above and will review them as I go. I've been trying to organize things so that each week I end up with a chickpea dish, a lentil dish and a tofu dish. If I double each of those that pretty much gets us through the week. And the chana masala I just made, plus dal are two recipes I should always be able to make with ingredients on hand in the cupboard. If you can't tell, I'm super stoked to have some new recipes that are appealing and easy! yay!
In other news, my long awaited for art materials have arrived. I got money for Christmas and splurged on a large order that kept getting delayed due to the weather. I bought a gallon pail of modeling paste so be on the lookout for some new pieces with lots of texture! Plus a bunch of new paints, etc. It had been so long I had forgotten what all I ordered, so it really was like Christmas opening all of the packages.
Today's Plan:
breakfast: coffee, grainy bread with nut butter, orange
lunch: amy's wrap
dinner: chana masala over brown jasmine rice
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Laura, that's very cool everyone is eating vegan with you! That recipe sounds good too. Sounds like you are still hard at work studying.
Carla, love that link on the veganricha site. I've visited the site before but it wasn't a go-to, thinking it will be upgraded to more regular visits. Can't wait to start in on some of those recipes. Will try the chana masala too. Looking forward to more masterpieces now that you have all your new goodies.
I left work a bit early today, secretary is back from vacation and I had errands to run (a couple of them for work so I felt pretty justified leaving early). Also stopped at Trader Joe's and restocked my frozen stir-fry veggies. They have a regular stir-fry and an Asian stir-fry in their freezer section, and they are really good, and very handy to have for quick dinners during the week. They are never mushy and gross like the brands in the regular grocery. I'll use the grocery store brands if I'm just adding them to recipes, but not for straight up stir-fry.
Not sure if I am going to do any work tonight. I brought a couple files home but I am really beat. It has been a long few weeks of non-stop working and I'm thinking relax, read, early bedtime. I am going to work all weekend again in the office, but I hope to cut back to at least one day of NO work every weekend after that.
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Karrie, happy to see you, and love the new socks! You are so talented. You and Carla should open a shop together. How are the smoothies going?
How are you feeling Lia? The image of you sitting around knitting baby booties is just way too freaking cute!
Glad you are feeling better Carla. I haven’t had time to start on Rip’s book yet but will let you know. Awesome on cutting down on coffee. I have not got there yet, but I did get a box of turmeric ginger tea and have been having one cup a day. Supposed to be good for inflammation and I seem to have so many aches and pains lately.
Sabine great to see you! And I see you have landed yourself in jail again lol. You’re a repeat offender.
Welcome back Gwen, great to see you! Sounds like you are off to a great start.
I’m still in a whirlwind of work craziness that is keeping me from fully committing to eating right and exercising, but I’m doing better. Honestly I’m so busy I don’t have time to eat that much! But I want to get back to regular exercise. It helps in so many ways, the mental boost is as good as the physical benefits to me.
I'm a total repeat offender.0 -
LOL too funny...Sabine our 'outlaw' friend!
Great info about the TJ stir fry veggies, Mihani! Next time I'm in the area I'm going to stock up on a bunch of those.
Tonight I'm trying the Kung Pao Lentils recipe. Will share my review tomorrow.
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Joe and I both enjoyed the Kung Pao Lentils. It is salty and sweet, yet loaded with veggies for a nice splurge. The ratio of lentils compared to everything else was lower than I imagined it would be, so I might add in some tofu next time to boost the protein.
I bought a vegetable chopper on Amazon that I'm really pleased with so far. It is mechanical and minces onions and peppers nicely. I've been going through so many onions that it is worth it for onions alone. You still need to cut the veggies into smaller pieces, but it really saves time. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HC7BNJA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=10 -
Oh Carla... I have been wondering about those veggie choppers glad to hear you like it. I get so tired of dicing and chopping sometimes. My knife skills are not that great. Happy to hear a good review. I actually just found a $50 gift card for Bed Bath & Beyond that I forgot I had, and I am going to buy a spiralizer, but that is only $30 so I can get the veggie chopper too yay! I am excited to get a spiralizer and try some veggie "noodles".
I have read through most of the new Engine 2 book. I am going to try some of the recipes. Rip is a big fan of bowls, where you just have things ready and throw them in a bowl with a sauce or dressing and eat up. It's definitely more carb heavy, more MacDougall than Fuhrman, but I am not averse to more grains in my diet, as long as they are whole grains not bread or those dratted blue corn chips I can't get enough of lol.
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Hi, everyone. I'm new here.
I'm 43 years old and, after having been vegan since 2012, I finally decided to really concentrate on a more nutritarian approach to the diet aspect of my lifestyle.
I was diagnosed with an untreated and quite a rampant case of Lyme disease in early 2016, and I'm going through many health effects as a result. So, I'm definitely interested in eating as healthfully as possible, paying particular attention to weight loss and heart health.
I'm not exercising right now because I need to be cleared by a cardiologist, but I'm trying to conquer the diet aspect until I get the go-ahead. (Lyme, especially an infection that has gone untreated as long as mine, often impacts cardiovascular health.)
My biggest challenge right now is getting adequate calories. I don't typically enjoy eating early in the day. In fact, I often don't think about food until 5 or 6 PM. This is something I'm working on.
Please feel free to add me. I can't promise I'll log my food every day, but I'm hoping to remain active and develop a group of like-minded "diet buddies," especially people who have lost or want to lose a significant amount of weight.0 -
Hi bohoveggirl... welcome! That's really scary you went untreated for Lyme for so long. Have you read any of Dr. F's books? Are you able to do any exercise like yoga or something not cardio? I have slacked off yoga lately but going to start back at it today. To be honest I just didn't feel like cleaning up the pet hair so I could put my yoga mat down the past week, but I'm going to get the floors done today lol.
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After pondering what I can do to get better prepared for the week, I have decided that I'm going to keep things really simple. Since I'm all stocked up on Trader Joe's veggie stir-fry, I'm taking all worry out of food prep and going to just eat the same things all week... breakfast overnight oats, lunch steamer veggies and an apple, dinner brown rice and stir-fry. I'll have a side salad with lunch or dinner every day for my raw veggies. I've really been bad about oil lately, using it for roasting veggies and stir-fry and such, and I'm going to cut out ALL oil again starting today.
Tonight I'm going to roast an acorn squash and stuff it with red quinoa tossed with chopped green onion, raisins, and lime juice.
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Welcome, bohoveggirl! Have you tried having smoothies for breakfast? I find that if I don't want to eat something solid, a smoothie can work. I add in at least a cup of kale or spinach, blueberries, a few walnuts or chia seeds or flax seeds, and my almond milk or coconut milk. A half of a banana is optional but it does make you feel more full so you might want to skip it.
Mihani, so far I'm very pleased with the chopper! I'm not sure how long it will last but if it keeps doing a good job like this I will probably just replace it as needed. The one I got is dishwasher safe and comes with 2 blade sizes. It doesn't work with tomatoes btw. Joe tried one and it squirted out at us lol. Let me know how the spiralizer works. I have thought about getting one but want to make sure I'd use it often before it takes up a spot in one of my cupboards.
Last night I made the Palak Tofu "Paneer" from the Vegan Richa site. I like it a lot and will keep it in the rotation, but with another dish as well. Picture a blended savory spinach sauce with chunks of tofu being the only solid parts. Nice over rice. It could be served alone but I was glad I had some left over crunchy Kung Pao Lentils to eat with it.
Update on my water intake: I failed to drink enough water the day before yesterday and woke up in the middle of the night extremely thirsty. I was tired, so I ignored my body and then woke up in the morning with an extreme dehydration headache that last all day yesterday! I couldn't shake it. Needless to say, I drowned myself in water all day yesterday and am keeping track of it today.
Today's plan:
breakfast - homemade pumpkin spice muffin, coffee
lunch - Amy's wrap
dinner - leftover kung pao lentils, palak paneer, brown jasmine rice
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Tonight I'm going to try the Chickpeas in Turmeric Peanut Butter Curry. http://www.veganricha.com/2016/05/chickpeas-in-turmeric-peanut-butter-curry.html
If it turns out, it will be a good way to use up extra veggies kicking around!
breakfast - 'the ladies' are producing lots of eggs and I had a few for breakfast in a wrap
lunch - Amy's wrap
snack - pumpkin muffin
Dinner - chickpea curry
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I had forgotten about the chickens Carla... are they still friendly? Are you doing better about drinking lots of water? I have been trying to drink more, I don't know how I ever got out of the habit, but I am drinking way too much coffee still. I am looking forward to an early bedtime tonight and maybe I can skip the coffee tomorrow.
Better today...
B - overnight oats with almond milk, chia seeds and a few walnuts
L - steamer veggies & some blue corn chips
D - stir-fry and brown rice
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Thank you for the warm welcome, Mihani.Have you read any of Dr. F's books?
Ironically, I can't "read" as most people do because of neurological issues caused by Lyme, so I actually get books and try to focus on tiny snippets. I've done that with the original ETL and I reference it whenever I need to go back to something. I've also watched several of Dr. Fuhrman's presentations, each several times.Are you able to do any exercise like yoga or something not cardio? I have slacked off yoga lately but going to start back at it today. To be honest I just didn't feel like cleaning up the pet hair so I could put my yoga mat down the past week, but I'm going to get the floors done today lol
Hahaha I know that feeling! I was doing restorative yoga for a while, but I'm a little afraid to do anything right now without a doctor's approval. I've never felt like this before...never even followed instructions to see a doctor before heavy cardio...but, right now, I'm so fragile and I'm scared that I could end up stressing my joints or heart before I know I'm physically ready. I'm even cautious of too much walking!
I am very much looking forward to the gi-ahead. I'm a little obsessed with The Fitness Marshall on Facebook and YouTube and want to do his dance routines. I find myself dancing on my couch a little when I watch them. I hate feeling so restricted! Have you ever seen his videos?0
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