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Anyone doing the HCG diet?


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Ok ladies, can I join in on this discussion? A couple of ladies at hubby's work did the injections and lost weight, so I did a little research. (keyword - little). I ordered the drops - several months ago. Once I started reading the diet, I knew there was no way I'd stick to the eating plan - so I haven't tried it yet.

However, I started back on a low calorie, high exercise program a couple months ago. Since February 1, I've lost 21 pounds which is about 9% of my body weight. In an ideal world, I probably still have about 55 pounds to lose, but frankly, I'd be thrilled with about 35 pounds. For my cruise on 6/25 (our 17 year wedding anniversary), I'm hoping to lose about 20 more and then continue working on slowly losing the rest.

Here's the deal. I know myself too well - and I just don't see the diet plan (the food choices) working for me w/ the HCG drops. However, since I've already bought them - do you think they'd help at all if I just took them as a supplement - maybe to curb my appetite a little. My normal calorie count for the day is 1000-1100, but can range from 900-1300 on a bad day. I typically eat Special K w/ fruit for breakfast, a modified version of cabbage soup diet soup for lunch or a spinach/strawberry salad, some sort of low cal snack, and then a smaller portion of a well-rounded dinner.

So would the hcg drops help me w/ the current diet that I'm on.

BTW - Congrats to you all! Having had a 20 year struggle with my weight, I feel the pain.
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[quote name='DonnaAruba']Ok ladies, can I join in on this discussion? A couple of ladies at hubby's work did the injections and lost weight, so I did a little research. (keyword - little). I ordered the drops - several months ago. Once I started reading the diet, I knew there was no way I'd stick to the eating plan - so I haven't tried it yet.

However, I started back on a low calorie, high exercise program a couple months ago. Since February 1, I've lost 21 pounds which is about 9% of my body weight. In an ideal world, I probably still have about 55 pounds to lose, but frankly, I'd be thrilled with about 35 pounds. For my cruise on 6/25 (our 17 year wedding anniversary), I'm hoping to lose about 20 more and then continue working on slowly losing the rest.

Here's the deal. I know myself too well - and I just don't see the diet plan (the food choices) working for me w/ the HCG drops. However, since I've already bought them - do you think they'd help at all if I just took them as a supplement - maybe to curb my appetite a little. My normal calorie count for the day is 1000-1100, but can range from 900-1300 on a bad day. I typically eat Special K w/ fruit for breakfast, a modified version of cabbage soup diet soup for lunch or a spinach/strawberry salad, some sort of low cal snack, and then a smaller portion of a well-rounded dinner.

So would the hcg drops help me w/ the current diet that I'm on.

BTW - Congrats to you all! Having had a 20 year struggle with my weight, I feel the pain.[/quote]

I think they only way you could really benefit from it is to eliminate all sugars/starches. You can honestly eat more than 500 cals and still benefit. I always ate 4oz of meat with my meals, not the 3.5 that Dr. Simeon recommended.
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Thanks for checking in DonnaAruba. There is another blog...[url]www.lowcarbfriends.com[/url]
they have a section on HCG and another section within that for rogue HCG, which mean people who do not follow the original protocol. This may give you some ideas and also an opportunity to ask people who have done HCG not following protocol how it went and what they did. Good luck to you and happy sailing. It is a free site and just requires registering I believe.
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DonnaAruba...just a side note, I looked at this diet and thought, how do you live on that? But I found that I did fine, I clean houses and do private nursing for a living so I am not INACTIVE by any means. I thought to myself, self (LOL) you can do this for three weeks, look at al the other hard, low caloried diets I went on and DIDN'T lose. But only you know what you are capable of.
Good Luck to you!
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[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"][COLOR="Blue"]Hey DonnaAruba. I believe that you can do this diet. If I can do this diet...anyone can! LOL!

I was down 1.6 this morning!! WOOHOO! That was a nice start to my day. I hope everyone has a great day tomorrow![/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
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Nice loss Disney, you are doing great! Time's a flying now before your cruising.
I had sf lemon jello with just a little cool whip lite, and a bunch of fresh blueberries, it was actually very good...don't know what possessed me to do that blend.
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[B]Good Evening ladie...[/B]
[B]Welcome Donna !![/B]
[B]YOU CAN DO IT !!! just stick here as well as the HCG site big suggests from facebook...:)[/B]

[B]You think you can't possibly stick to it ..BUT when you start seeing the results..It makes you want it even more ! Good Luck.[/B]

[B]I have just been staying the same ...Yea.[/B]
[B]BUT :[/B]

[B]TODAY I BOUGHT A SIZE MEDIUM SHIRT !!!! I could not believe it.. I tried on the large and it was to big !! Yippie..[/B]
[B]Cruising in 19 days ....double yipppie....[/B]

[B]Hope everyone has a great morning...[/B]
[B]Oh I think I would like lemon jello....mmmm[/B]
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Good morning ladies, down 0.4 but that's my pattern sometimes when first starting..I have a small release the first day then nice releases the next few days. :D I also tried a new dressing that could be the culprit so going to put that on hold and go with another one.

Bighorn~that's one of my fav places! The rogue section is wonderful and people in there have had nice losses.
Congrats Disneyden on the loss!!
DonnaAruba~welcome and I second what BHN said. People have varied the plan and still had much success. Good luck to you!
Congrats Block on moving on to a smaller size! It really is pounds and inches!! :D
Hi Blueyesdm.

ETA: Disneyden..love your review. Nice pics!
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Thanks everyone - and thanks Bighorn for the website link. I'll take a look. I'm down a little more this morning, but I consider Tuesdays my official weigh-in day. The increase exercise has really helped me this time. I typically go to Curves 5 mornings/week (2 of which are Zumba/Curves), plus I've been going to a a full hour of Zumba at another gym on Saturdays.
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Good afternoon ladies!! Looks like you are all doing good. I'm doing well with P3 so far, after a rough start on Sunday. Still 1 pound below my LIW, so I'm thinking this will be OK. I was up 0.8 yesterday from the previous day, but down 0.4 today. I'm thinking that I will be fluctuating daily, but as long as I stay in the range I'm a happy camper!

I'm so jealous of those of you cruising soon!! Janet, you big loser, going down a size on your shirts, that's awesome. You are going to be looking so great on your cruise, we definitely need to see some pictures when you get back.

Disney, you're gonna love the Triumph! We sailed on her last September for my DH's 50th birthday. Had a little fun in New Orleans before we sailed also! Dawn, you're even closer to your cruise, aren't you???? I'm ready for my cruise to hurry up and get here, but I do want to do another round before we sail, so I guess I will just wait. :)

Donna, welcome. You are doing well, good luck with whatever you decide to do. I just wanted to say that I agree with above, anyone can do well on the HCG protocol, and the HCG really does knock your appetite down where it's all you can do to eat those 500 calories. Just research it well and read "Pounds and Inches" before you begin. I really like the lowcarbfriends forum for HCG that Big linked you to as well!!

Shari, welcome back. You're losing, so you're on the right track. Be sure to drink all of your water, it's key to good results.

I've missed you ladies, had a super weekend until lunch on Sunday. I guess I got a little too excited, ate a hamburger patty for lunch with more fat in it than I thought. Well, about 30 mins after I ate, I had horrible stomach cramps and then was in the bathroom for 30 mins. I haven't felt that bad for a long time. :( But, I've been fine since, and maintaining below my LIW.

Hope you all have a great afternoon!!
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[B][SIZE=4]morning Ladies,[/SIZE][/B]
[B][SIZE=4][/SIZE][/B]
[B][SIZE=4] OOh yesterday was tough...I didn't bring lunch so I had to go get something...I wound up with a salad slice (pizza with salad on top no cheese) and 3 mozzarella sticks...got back on track at dinner with roasted chicken and veggies. Haven't stepped on the scale... scared. I'll let you know how it goes.[/SIZE][/B]
[B][SIZE=4][/SIZE][/B]
[B][SIZE=4]How is everyone else doing on p3 ? Any cravings ? Do you ever get just tired of cooking and chewing salad ?? ugh[/SIZE][/B]
[B][SIZE=4]Don't get me wrong I like cooking and Actually I'am good at it...but sometimes ugh !!![/SIZE][/B]
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Good morning!! Doing OK on P3 here, only up 0.2 this am, still below LIW. I'm actually enjoying P3, bigger variety of foods, but I'm very comfortable eating low carb. No cravings so far, I can keep them at bay if I stay away from carbs, it's usually only if I eat something that I'm not supposed to that I get into trouble, and it snowballs quickly for me. I am actually enjoying all of the salads that I am eating now, I really did miss them in P2. We served pizza to the boys at the group home where I volunteer Tuesday night and I really wasn't even tempted. It's just not worth it to me at this point.

I guess I'm feeling brave, because I didn't pack a lunch for work today (forgot to cook up some chicken breasts last night). I will see what they have in the cafe here at the hospital, but if nothing is friendly, I will just run across the street to Lubys and get a salad with a grilled chicken breast on it. I did bring some strawberries and macadamia nuts to snack on, it seems that as long as I have a couple of good things with me to much on I'm OK.

I do enjoy cooking too, and we have come up with some great new recipes while on P2, but it's nice to eat out now and then. We ate wings last night from Buffalo Wild Wings. I just looked up the nutritional info online, and ordered the dry rub ones (Desert Heat) and dipped in Blue Cheese, made a nice side salad at home, and Yum!

Hope everyone has a great day!!
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[B]MMm the wings sound good jennifer.... I like the tuscan roasted wings at Bertuccis ..oohhh sooo good. Good luck with lunch today ! I got on the scale this am after I posted...and.....down a pound ??? Okay ! DD is home sick today (again) I told my boss I would not be in...I'am going to stay home and take care of her..be mommy today. The Troll of a boss I have will give me %rap about missing work..but I should not feel guilty about not going to work ...Ugh I hate that..if I go I feel guilty for not being Mommy... I really hate working.. :o[/B]

[B]Good day ladies,[/B]
[B]Janet[/B]
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Good afternoon ladies, down 0.8 but I did add in extra protein yesterday to fight the hungries. I'm happy with any loss now. Only have 10lbs to go to make mini-goal before cruise..definitely doable if I stay focused! ;) Is anyone else in lowly P2 with me? :p

Block~Wow down a pound! Congrats..don't try to figure it out..just work it..lol!! :D Hope your DD feels better. Your boss can go to....:mad:

Jifner~congrats on stabilizing nicely and maintaining within window!
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Way to go Block, I can never even dream of a size med...too much bustage...LOL But I have gone from a 2X to some shirts XL...so that is good for me! The lemon jello is great but my FAV is cherry jello and I don't add all the water, makes it really strong cherry tasting and it is good! SF of course, you can eat a whole package for 40 calories, but beware of the bloat and gas...yes...been there done that.
Jennifer...I am 245 days out on a cruise...you only 170...I hate waiting for them but love to research and plan away. Actually the cruise I did last Dec is the same one I will do this Dec. It was awesome and I loved the snorkeling...taking some newbies with me so I hope to wow them into cruising so I have some company in the future. Hubby likes it ok but not in love with it. So he doesn't go every year.
Maintaining and life style changes are the key to success here. Once we realize that we can eat lighter and deliciously, 1/2 the battle is done. Not that starches and sugars will never be in our lives, but good Lord! I look back at my portion size and eating choices and is it any wonder I got into the situation I did.
I am determined to make my 50's the best, healthiest years of my life. I should have done this in my thirties.
Everyone here has done so well and those times we have faltered, really only make us stronger and more determined. We now know what we can do for ourselves, and if some of the weight comes back, we move on and take care of business. Ok, pep talk over...LOL
Tonight I made shrimp alfredo luguini using spiral cut zucchinni and it was FAB! The husband practically licked the pan. I am so glad I bought the spiral cutter, makes cool cut veggies for salads but using zucchinni instead of noodles was great. I love PASTA but this was a great substitute.
Have a great weigh in tomorrow. Oh I am back down to with in 1 pound of my LDW. Must have been the glass of wine last night with the girls:~)
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Block - Awesome job on the shirt size!! That's great! You know I don't know if my girls will ever fit into anything smaller than an Large, currently down to an XL which is nice. I'm sorry DD is sick and that your boss is a jerk about it. Some bosses just don't understand. I work in HR but I'm a mom so I understand that family comes first. Hope she is feeling better tomorrow!!

Bighorn - So proud of all of your hard work and effort with losing weight and your positive spin on it! I look back and wish I did this in my 20's but I just know that I don't want to be doing this in my 40's. I just pray that I can continue to be strong and stay away from the things that make me gain. I also look back at what I was eating and how much and I totally understand why I'm overweight!!

Jennifer - Glad you are doing well on phase 3 so far. It's weird to eat that much again isn't it? I know sometimes I miss the shots because I liked not having to think about food.

Disney - Congrats on your great loss!!

Shari - A loss is a loss but hoping today was a bigger one. Could definitely have been that dressing. They put so many different things in those dressings you have to be careful. I made my own with MCT oil and vinegar and spices all of the time.

Donna - Welcome! I love zumba! I started going again now that I'm in P3.

Hope I didn't miss anyone and if I did, I'm sorry.

So, I'm sick with a sinus infection and not feeling too great. But I made some chicken vegetable soup for dinner so looking forward to that. I'm usually the one who eats soup loaded with egg noodles but not this time around. I also made SF chocolate pudding and I'm going to have that with some berries. I keep finding my weight flucuating pretty much between a half pound each day but it's better than gaining and I like to stay within a 1lb window myself. I was hoping I'd continue to lose more in P3 but so far I'm not. But I'm not worried because I'm excercising and eating good, although sometimes I think I don't eat enough but I would think staying the same is good because maybe I won't easily gain weight on the cruise. Let's hope! We leave one week from tomorrow to head to Florida. Yay!
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[B]Morning !![/B]
[B] DD 's fever is gone thank goodness.... We had a good laugh at the Dr's office yesterday...she had to give a urine sample and was laughing that she peed in a cup....it was pretty funny. She's only 4.[/B]

[B]Dawn- you must be so excitied ...are you packed yet? Where are you going ? What ship? I am excitied for you..[/B]
[B]Do you have an eating plan ?? [/B]
[B]I will be bring my trusty cup with built in straw as my reminder that I'am not "That girl" anymore !! drink lots of Iced tea and water. and stay away fromthe things that I know aren't in my best interest. Whats yours? [/B]

[B]I made sausage and peppers for dinner last night and had a small scoop of ricotta on top ooooh it was ytummy and I haven't missed the pasta.[/B]

[B]Have a good day ladies! Eat Well ![/B]
[B]Janet[/B]
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[quote name='block'][B]Morning !![/B]
[B] DD 's fever is gone thank goodness.... We had a good laugh at the Dr's office yesterday...she had to give a urine sample and was laughing that she peed in a cup....it was pretty funny. She's only 4.[/B]

[B]Dawn- you must be so excitied ...are you packed yet? Where are you going ? What ship? I am excitied for you..[/B]
[B]Do you have an eating plan ?? [/B]
[B]I will be bring my trusty cup with built in straw as my reminder that I'am not "That girl" anymore !! drink lots of Iced tea and water. and stay away fromthe things that I know aren't in my best interest. Whats yours? [/B]

[B]I made sausage and peppers for dinner last night and had a small scoop of ricotta on top ooooh it was ytummy and I haven't missed the pasta.[/B]

[B]Have a good day ladies! Eat Well ![/B]
[B]Janet[/B][/quote]

Sausage and peppers sounds so good!! I made a zucchini lasagna thing with ricotta in it and it was so yummy! I think I'm making it tonight too. I still have some ricotta left to use up!

Yeah I plan on drinking LOTS of water - we are going on the Celebrity Equinox and I am getting a drink package so I get bottles of water which will be nice and I'll be sure to have one with me at all times. I usually drink a lot of iced tea but I'd prefer to push more water than tea. I'm kind of scared to eat on the cruise, because I know I'll eat starches but I just need to do it in moderation and when I want a snack go for fruit, meat or cheese before I pick up that cookie. I plan on hitting the gym and weighing myself so i can keep track everyday and if I see myself gaining too much, I will cut back on the bad things.

Glad your DD is feeling better!!
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Dawn, Celebrity equinox..Nice !! I long for a Celebrity ship again.. it was the way cruising should be...aaahhhh.. It never works out for us. Always stuck on NCL or Carnival... After being on Celebrity nothing else compares...Haven't been on Windstar ...or ever will LOL !
Drink package...I will have to look into that ..Does NCL have something similar?

Janet
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Morning all! Dawn, you sound like you have a great plan for your cruise, and that will make you successful IMHO. I can't wait to hear all about your cruise. We have only cruised Carnival, due mostly to the convenience of cruising from Galveston which is a 4 hour drive for us.

We are in the middle of another busy weekend! We were talking last night about how much more we are getting done every weekend since we aren't carting around 30-35 extra pounds daily. We had a garage sale yesterday morning, then went to donate the leftovers. Went to Sam's and bought a workbench for the shop with our garage sale proceeds. Lunch at Rudy's barbq, drank a bud lite!! Gosh it was good. Then we visited with my folks and came home and went to the park with the dogs to walk the trail for 40 minutes. Home for a steak dinner and bed. Today we are going to ride the motorcycle over to Canton for First Monday Trade Days (google it, it's incredible) to walk around for an hour or two, then home to work in the yard.

I've got to say that I'm loving all that we are able to do now, and we have no intention of slowing down. I feel so good now, and I want to continue to do so. Keeping busy and moving, doing, and watching what I am eating is key to keeping this weight off until we can do another round.

I hope that you are all having a great weekend (packing for upcoming cruises :) ) and are all feeling great!
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[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]Hi Losers,[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]I am still here.. Same weight. :o[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]I am getting ready to go to Cancun on Wednesday for a week..:p[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]DH and I are SO excited. We LOVE Cancun. I just wish I would[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3] have kept my weight down. As soon as I get back I am going [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]to do another round. When I get my weight off this time I am[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]really going to watch it. I learned the HARD way![/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3] [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]Looks like you all are doing GREAT! Keep up the good work[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]girls.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]Blue that zucchini lasagna sounds wonderful. I would love to[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]know how to make that.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]Happy weekend losers,[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]Sheri[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]Blue and Disney,[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]I hope you both have the most WONDERFUL cruise.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]Blue yours is SO close EXCITING..:p[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]Remember nothing taste that wonderful..[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]I kept eating and eating trying to get satisfied. I never did[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]I only made my self sick and miserable.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]Good choices and have a GREAT time,[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]Sheri[/SIZE][/FONT]
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Janet - Not sure I'll try Windstar either. I would like to try Azamara though one day. RCI is our favorite line but Celebrity comes a close second. We enjoy it for sure. I have never been on Carnival but DH has. Tried NCL once and wasn't too fond of it, but I'm liking their new ships, so I'd like to try them again.

Jennifer - Doesn't RCI sail out of Galveston? You need to try another cruise line eventually. There are pros and cons on each line. It's MUCH easier to get around now being shy of over 30lbs! I know I have way more energy and I'm not so out of it climbing my stairs. It feels great and I'm actually excited to come home and lose more weight!! Keep up the good work!!

Sheri - Thank you so much! I hope you have a great time in Cancun. Sounds like a lot of fun. I will plan on having fun but in moderation. It's my goal to be active too so the weight doesn't creep up on me. The lasagna thing was easy - I just kind of made it up. I think I used one zucchini, ground turkey, can of tomatoes (make sure there is no added sugar) and some ricotta and baked it. I did a similar recipe the other day with cabbage and that was just as good!!

Hello everyone else. I hope you are all having a good weekend!!

I tried oatmeal today! :eek: Hoping I don't have the same effect that Bighorn had. I added some berries to it. Hoping the scale is good to me tomorrow but I'm a few days shy of being done with P3 so I figured what the heck, let's see how it goes. Was down half a pound today which is good but still can't get out of this one number!! I bounce everyday and it's so annoying. But hey it's better than being up over a pound!

I'll talk to you all tomorrow!
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Wow, time sure went by this week-end. Better check in and say hi. Scale is pretty steady for me and I have oatmeal every morning with no ill effects:~)
Just bounce around the 2-3 pounds, here one day, gone the next. I think I have lost more girth though even though the weight remains the same...must be toning up some.
I made pork stir fry and didn't even miss not having it over rice.
Hope all you gals have a good week and I am totally envious of all the cruisers coming up! Have a great cruise and enjoy yourself.
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Well, looks like we are all busy, and moving on in P3. I'm staying at pretty much the same weight, adding new things slowly, adding more exercise but nothing too intense.

Dawn, you packed yet? You leave in less than a week now!! :)

How's everyone else doing? Hope all are well. It's a beautiful day here in Texas, and I'm stuck at work all day. Oh well, could be worse, just thankful to have a job!
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