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10 Quick And Healthy Low-Carb Snacks That’ll Help You Ditch The Chips

10 Quick And Healthy Low-Carb Snacks That’ll Help You Ditch The Chips

Are you addicted to carbs? Here are some healthy low-carb snacks that will make you want to break up with those cookies and chips.

You’re out and about running errands. Then, all of a sudden, hunger pangs strike!

What do you do? Perhaps your first instinct is to grab a snack for a quick energy boost, such as a candy bar, cookie, muffin, or chips. If you’re trying to lose weight and keep fit, obviously none of these snacks will cut the mustard.

Thankfully, with a little bit of forethought, you can choose low-carb snacks at the grocery store that’ll not only provide great nutritional value but also keep you on the right track health-wise.

Here are 10 best low carb snacks you can chow down when you need to keep those hunger pangs at bay.

1. Nuts

Nuts can be ideal no carb snacks. They contain healthy fat, fiber, and protein all in a single package and most are packed with nutrients.

But there two things to keep in mind when it comes to eating nuts:

  • Some nuts, like cashews, actually contain a sizable amount of carbs.
  • Some people find it difficult to stop when they’re eating nuts.

Make a small pot every morning and gnaw at them all day. But don’t eat too much as the carbs may soon pile up. Carefully monitor your portion sizes.

Eat lower carb nuts like almonds and macadamia. Steer clear of cashews.

2. Seeds

The most readily available seeds are pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. Chia seeds and flax seeds are other amazingly nutritious low carb snacks.

Almost all their carbs are in fiber form, which won’t raise your blood sugar. And, as a rule, check the number of carbs in seeds when you buy some from the convenience store.

Store seeds in the fridge. Only take out the portion you want to eat at a time. If you carry them to work, use little snack-sized zip bags.

3. Deli Meat

Any cold piece of deli meat is good to have at hand. Leftover meatballs, leftover roast meat, sausages, bacon, etc. are all easy and healthy low-carb snacks.

Be sure to pick meat with minimal processing, like bacon with no sugar or honey, ham off the bone, salami/pepperoni with at least 98% meat or fat and minimal additives, and sausages with at least 85% meat.

4. Berries

Berries are an amazing source of antioxidants and vitamin C, which helps fight disease, low immunity, and aging.

Eat fresh berries, or suck on frozen ones. You can also add some coconut cream or full-fat cream.

Buy different kinds of these low carb sweet snacks to receive all the different properties and nutrients they offer.

5. Hard-Boiled Eggs

Keep some hard-boiled eggs in your freezer. They’re a simple, convenient snack with a fair amount of fat and protein to keep your appetite under control.

Occasionally, you’ll find hard-boiled eggs at your local convenience store. They’re the ultimate snack, packed with vital vitamins, protein, and minerals. In fact, the egg white contains over half of the protein, along with vitamin C, lots of B vitamins, copper, iron, zinc, and selenium.

One big hard-boiled egg contains less than one trifling gram of carbs. Make sure to also eat the yolk as it contains all of the vitamins.

6. Raw Vegetables

Raw vegetable snack packs are becoming a pretty common sight in grocery stores.

Celery is a great choice with only a gram of carb in a 3-ounce serving. Meanwhile, three ounces of broccoli and carrot have 3 and 6 grams of carbs respectively.

You can dip your veg in peanut butter, low-fat or non-fat Greek yogurt, hummus, or low-fat cream cheese.

7. Beverages

It’s never been easier to find a low-carb drink in the grocery store.

Some great virtually carb free snacks include diet soda (0 carbs), unsweetened coffee or tea (0 carbs), unsweetened vegetable juice (11 gm), plain low-fat milk (11 gm), and coconut water (9 gm of carbs).

Another great option is plain sparkling water, which can lessen your hunger until you get back home.

8. Kale Chips

Kale is a low-carb snack, so you can munch a bit more of this delicious green without actually going too fat with calories.

It’s also nutrient-dense, and eating fewer carbs while keeping the micronutrients high is essential for your overall health.

For example, kale is loaded with B vitamins, which are crucial for converting carbs, proteins, and fats into energy. If you don’t receive enough B vitamins, your metabolism gets into sloth mode.

To make simple and quick low carb chips, drizzle kale leaves with ultra virgin olive. Add some pepper and salt to taste. Bake for 10-15 minutes at a temperature of 350 degrees.

Remember, 100 gm of kale has just 8 gm of carbs and 4 gm of plant-based protein. Enjoy!

9. Greek Yogurt

Yogurt is a breakfast favorite for many of us, but it’s also perfect for dessert. Greek yogurt is low in sugar and fat and full of protein, so long as you buy the unsweetened variety.

It’ll keep you satisfied for several hours, making it an amazing snack. You can also sweeten Greek yogurt with cinnamon and add chia seeds for extra energy, fiber, and calcium.

Greek yogurt is basically high in flavor and low in carbs.

10. Hot Dogs

You can take this snack as a last resort if you don’t find anything else to eat in the store. But make sure to chuck the bun! Regardless of the bad rap they’ve received, hot dogs are absolutely fine in a pinch, providing 2 gm of protein and just 2 gm of carbs.

Although high in cholesterol and sodium, hot dogs make for a much healthier snack than a store-bought brownie (21 gm of carbs) or a pack of potato chips if you’re trying to eat healthily and stay in shape.

Final Verdict on Low-Carb Snacks

It’s quite hard to stay healthy when your freezer is filled with chips, cookies, and donuts.

Instead of gorging on high-carb snacks that’ll pile on the pounds, give these low-carb snacks a try. You can easily make them at home or get them at your local convenience store.

Our 9-week challenge can help transform your body from the inside out as you embrace healthy snacks instead of calorie-filled chips and cookies.

Our 21 Day Body Transformation Challenge combines diet and exercise to transform your look. If you want to turn heads for the right reasons, find out more here.

A Crash Course In What To Eat For Your Body Type

A Crash Course In What To Eat For Your Body Type

Have you ever heard of diets based on the type of body you have? Here’s what to eat for your body type, and how to know if this works for you.

The term “different strokes for different folks” has never been truer than when it’s applied to diet and exercise plans.

We all have that one friend that never puts on a single pound no matter how many chocolate bars they wolf down. Then there are those unfortunates who cannot reach their goal weight no matter how much they exercise or how long they stick to their meal plans.

Turns out it hasn’t got much to do with the speed of your metabolism. Although in some ways, it has everything to do with it.

It’s not how fast your metabolism works, but how it works in relation to the type of body you’re born with.

Find a happy medium by learning how to exercise and what to eat for your body type. The results will amaze you.

What Body Type Are You?

Typically when we consider different body types we think of our general shape. This is especially true for women.

These shapes are usually referred to as ”apple” or android body type, and “pear” or gynoid body type. Less commonly, we may refer to ”hourglass”, and “ruler” body types. These are all pretty accurate descriptions of body shapes.

Yet, when it comes to eating for your body type, finding the right balance goes a little deeper than first impressions.

It has to do with metabolism, bone structure, and how your body reacts to exercise. Find out where you fit in when it comes to body types.

Endomorph

Endomorphs usually fall into the pear-shaped category. They battle to lose weight and keep it off thanks to a slow metabolic rate. When they do exercise, they gain muscle easily, but it’s never as bulky as they’d like.

If you have any of the following traits, you are probably an Endomorph:

  • A rounded body shape
  • Medium to large joints and bone structure
  • Short limbs
  • Small shoulders

Due to their sluggish metabolism, endomorphs fall asleep easily and can have bouts of unexplained fatigue.

Bottom line, endomorphs have the highest body fat percentage of all body types. They have to work much harder and follow a strict eating plan to get into shape.

The good news is that the rewards are so much greater when you do achieve your goals. A fit female endomorph is the pinnacle of feminine allure, with a toned, yet softly rounded physique.

Ectomorph

Most supermodels are ectomorphs. This highly fashionable body type is fragile and delicately built, with little fat or muscle.

While these may seem like attractive characteristics, ectomorphs have their own set of problems. Low muscle mass means that well-developed muscles are a pipe dream for most of these individuals.

Ladies tend to complain about being flat-chested and lacking in the curves of their endomorph counterparts. Men usually see themselves as too skinny and wiry.

These are the most common characteristics of endomorphs:

  • Small joints and bone structure
  • A skinny physique with low body fat
  • Long arms and legs
  • Small shoulders
  • Little muscling
  • A fast metabolism
  • Hyperactive tendencies

Ectomorphs wage an ongoing battle that many of us would love to fight. They struggle to put on weight. Unfortunately, the same applies to muscle.

Mesomorph

Mesomorphs have the best of both worlds. They are naturally lean and build muscle easily. On the downside, their bodies can pile on the pounds of fat given the chance.

These are the main characteristics of mesomorphs:

  • Lean and muscular body
  • Natural strength
  • Medium size bone structure and joints
  • Efficient metabolism
  • See results from exercise quickly

Female mesomorphs usually have a shapely, hourglass figure. Males tend to take a classic V-shape, with wide shoulders and narrow hips.

Working Out a Plan for You

People aren’t made according to factory specifications, so it’s totally possible to have characteristics from more than one body type. Figure out which description most applies to you when choosing an eating plan for your body type.

One of the easiest ways to avoid disappointment is to be realistic about how you want your body to look.

Achieving the super-ripped physique of professional bodybuilders may not be ideal for you. It’s important to realize that you can be fit and healthy without going to those extremes. You have a life to live outside of the gym.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, scroll on down to see what you should eat for your body type if you want to get into top shape fast.

What to Eat for Your Body Type

It’s important to remember that there is no right or wrong body type. Everybody can benefit from eating the kind of foods that suit their body type.

Here are some pointers to help you get on the right track.

Eating Plan for Endomorphs

Endomorphs are usually insulin dominant which means their bodies store energy easily in the form of fat.

This doesn’t mean you’re doomed to a lifetime of being overweight. It simply means you have to eat foods that get your metabolism pumping and work out enough to prevent the fat from settling.

Endomorphs fare best on a diet that is high in fat and protein. The ideal ratio is 25% carbs, 35% protein, and 40% fat. It’s best to keep your carb intake to those times when you’ve already used up a whole lot of energy exercising.

These kinds of eating plans will ensure that your retain and build on the muscle you have while restricting the amount of energy that’s stored as fat.

Stick to ”good” carbs like whole grain bread, brown rice, amaranth, millet, corn, barley, potatoes, and quinoa. Vegetables are a great source of healthy carbs as well as vitamins and minerals.

Stick to healthy fats like avocado oil and olive oil.

Diet Tips for Ectomorphs

While ectomorphs can eat what they want without gaining much weight, a healthy diet is imperative to achieve a toned, healthy body.

If you are an ectomorph, you’ll need loads of nutritious calories to build muscle and replace spent energy efficiently. This means carbs – and plenty of them.

An ideal ectomorph eating plan should involve eating high carb foods throughout the day and upping your intake just before and after your workout. The magic formula is 50 percent carbs, 25 percent protein, and 25 percent fat.

Breakfast is the main meal of the day for ectomorphs and should be heavy on the complex carbohydrates and protein. Try to fit in another 7 or 8 meals spread throughout the day.

Focus on consuming vegetable and fruits at every meal and add starchy carbs like potatoes every second meal. Whole grain, unprocessed foods are always best for optimum health and vitality.

Whey protein and high-calorie shakes can help to boost your weight gain and a cheat meal every so often won’t harm your progress when you’re an ectomorph. You are free to tuck into a cheeseburger, as long as you don’t make a habit of it.

Mesomorph Meal Ideals

Mesomorphs fall somewhere in the middle of the other two body types and usually thrive on a balanced ratio of carbs to proteins and fats. The best way to split these is often 40% carbohydrate, 30% fat and 30% protein.

Because of their propensity to put on weight, mesomorphs fare better when they stick to low -fat proteins and complex carbohydrates.

Greek yogurt, eggs, poultry, and seafood are good sources of protein, while green vegetables, whole grain foods, and low-sugar fruits are excellent for carbs. High-fiber foods will reduce sugar cravings and help you to feel full for longer.

Try to cram most of your carbs into your breakfast meal, as well as before and after exercise. Vegetables, lean proteins, nuts, seeds, and fruit are the best options for meals in between these times.

This means you’d try eating some higher carb or starchy carb foods in the morning, as well as during/post exercise. The rest of your meals should contain fewer carbs and more fats and protein.

If you feel that you need a little extra kick during an intense workout, you can indulge in an energy drink to give you a boost.

Work Out Tips for Your Body Type

On its own, eating the correct diet will do a lot for your appearance and self-esteem as well as help you to slim down.

However, diet alone won’t give you the body you want. Exercise is imperative to get into the best shape you can.

Best Exercises for Endomorphs

Endomorphs seldom have trouble bulking up, the problem is that often this bulk takes the form of fat and not muscle.

While regular weight training will work wonders to build up muscle, you need the fat burning benefits of cardio too. The magic formula for endomorphs is often 4 days of weight training per week, making sure to include a cardio session each time.

When you’re just starting out, it’s perfectly okay to stick to low impact exercise as long as it gets your heart pumping. Ideally, you should choose an activity that checks the following boxes:

  • can continue for at least 20 minutes
  • uses the large muscles like legs and back
  • involves continuous, rhythmic movement

As your muscle mass increases, your metabolism will follow suit. It’s perfectly normal to go through cycles of change as you progress. As things become too easy or no longer interest you, adapt and move on.

Winning Workouts for Ectomorphs

Fortunately, with low body fat, it’s easier to achieve well-defined muscles even with small gains when you’re an ectomorph.

If you want to bulk up you are going to need to go hard, and you’re going to need to do it often. Heavy weights and low reps are the way to go.

Compound multi-joint lifts work well for this body type. These include:

  • bench press
  • back and front squats
  • stiff-leg deadlifts
  • pull-ups
  • barbell overhead presses

There’s no such thing as ”leg-day” when you’re an ectomorph. Try to incorporate as many muscle groups as you can into every workout.

While cardio is good for your overall health, too much can turn your body into a fat-burning wasteland. A quick spin on the bicycle or a brisk walk should do the trick.

BasicTraining for Mesomorphs

When you’re a mesomorph almost anything goes, and you can really enjoy yourself at the gym.

Resistance exercises using your body weight will help to tone, firm and shape your body while burning fat at the same time. Think yoga, calisthenics, and gymnastics.

As a mesomorph, your frame can carry a lot of muscular bulk but that’s often difficult to achieve. There’s a good chance you won’t be able to lift the heavy weights needed to bulk up at first.

In the beginning, using your body weight is an effective way to improve your strength in preparation for these big lifts.

When you’re ready, you can progress to moderate repetitions with moderate weights. About 3 weight training sessions a week should do the trick, consisting of 8 to 12 reps focussing on individual muscle groups.

Staying Motivated

Getting yourself to the gym regularly can be trying. Here are a few tips to help you make every workout enjoyable and productive.

Sticking to a strict regime on your own is never easy. Enlisting the help of a personal trainer will help you to see results quicker and stay on top of your game.

When you sign up for the 21 Day Body Transformation Challenge, we will match you with a personal challenge coach. They’ll guide you on what to eat for your body type and how to get the best results from your workouts.

Our 21 Day Body Transformation Challenge combines diet and exercise to transform your look. If you want to turn heads for the right reasons, find out more here.

Macros VS Calories: Which Should You Count For Weight Loss?

Macros VS Calories: Which Should You Count For Weight Loss

If you’re trying to lose weight by way of what you eat, you’ve heard about macros VS calories. Click here to find out what they are and which ones to count.

The holidays are coming up in a hurry. That means reconnecting with family and friends, taking pictures, and maybe even paying a visit to your old hometown.

This is the time of year when many of us panic and say, “Oh no, I can’t enjoy the holidays looking like THIS!”

No matter what your weight loss motivation might be, it starts with getting educated. If you’re scouring the internet for weight loss tips, you’ve been hit by an avalanche and you need to sift through the myths and half-truths to find your path.

One of the greatest debates about weight loss is whether it’s best to count macros vs calories. We’re putting it to rest once and for all. Here’s what you need to know.

Counting Macros Vs Calories: What Do I Need to Do to Lose Weight?

We’ll cut to the chase: to lose weight the right way, you need to do both. Your body is an atmosphere with a delicate balance, and you need to manage your overall calories as well as your macros to stimulate healthy weight loss.

To help you find that perfect balance, we’ll break it down one piece at a time.

Why Calories Matter for Weight Loss

Most people know the basic concept of weight loss. If you take in more calories than you burn, you gain weight. If you burn more calories than you take in, you lose weight. But why?

A calorie is a unit of energy that your body uses for all its functions, from basic survival to hitting the pavement for a run. Our bodies are programmed for survival in the wilderness, where we wouldn’t know when our next meal was coming.

If we have more energy than our body needs, the body stores the extra energy inside our fat cells so it can use it at a later time if we can’t get the food we need. When your body needs more energy than you’re giving it, it pulls the energy from those stored fat cells and uses it, leading to weight loss.

To put it in simple terms, you need to burn more calories than you eat in order to lose weight. That’s why counting calories is the method most people use for weight loss: because it’s easy and it can get the job done.

However, your daily calorie count doesn’t give you the full picture. As we’ll explain later, not all sources of calories are equal.

How Many Calories Should I Eat to Lose Weight?

This is the million-dollar question: if I need to eat fewer calories to lose weight, what should my limit be? As you may expect, it varies from one person to another. Here’s how to calculate your calorie goal.

1. Find Your BMR

Everyone’s body requires a different number of calories for its basic functions like digestion, maintaining a heartbeat, and more. That number is your basal metabolic rate or BMR.

Your estimated BMR depends on your height, weight, age, and gender. You can use an online BMR calculator to find your estimated BMR.

As an example, let’s use Jane Doe. She’s a 40-year-old woman who’s 66 inches tall and she weighs 180 pounds. Based on an online calculator, her BMR is 1560. In other words, if she were to lay around all day and do no activity, she would burn 1,560 calories.

2. Factor in Your Activity Level

Now that you know your BMR, you need to factor in your typical activity level to see how many total calories your body burns on an average day.

Take a look at how much exercise you get in a typical week and assign it a number on a scale of 1.2 to 1.9. If you are sedentary and do little or no activity on a daily basis, you’re a 1.2. A 1.9, on the other hand, would be a professional athlete or someone who exercises often on top of a hard labor job.

When you’ve decided where your activity level is on this scale, multiply that number by your BMR. This is called the Harris Benedict Formula. It gives you an estimate of how many calories you need to eat on a daily basis.

Let’s go back to our Jane Doe example. She does a moderate workout three times per week, so we’ll put her at a 1.5 on the activity scale. If she multiplies that by her BMR of 1560, her total daily estimated calorie usage is 2,340.

3. Calculate Your Calorie Goal

The calculations above give you the number of calories you need to eat each day to maintain your same weight. The next step is to determine how many calories you should eat in order to lose weight.

It all depends on your desired weight loss rate. In general, you need to burn about 3500 more calories than you eat to lose one pound.

Let’s assume Jane Doe wants to lose two pounds per week. That means she needs a 7,000 calorie deficit each week.

To hit that goal, Jane Doe should eat 1,000 fewer calories than she burns each day. The puts her daily calorie limit at 1,340.

Of course, that’s only part of the story. To get the results she wants, Jane Doe needs to make sure those 1,340 calories are coming from the right sources. That’s where macronutrients come into play in our nine-week weight loss challenge.

Why Macronutrients Matter for Weight Loss

Food does more than give your body energy. It also gives your body the specific nutrients it needs to perform every function you need on a daily basis. That’s why your macros are so important: they make sure your body has what it needs to function.

There are three macronutrients: carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Each one has its own nutrients and components your body needs. The key to weight loss is making sure that your body gets enough of each macronutrient within your daily calorie goal.

Carbohydrates

Carbs have gotten a bad reputation over the years, and it’s only somewhat warranted.

Carbs are your body’s first source of energy. If you take in more carbs than your body needs, it stores the remaining carbs in your fat cells, enlarging them and causing weight gain.

If your body needs more energy than it’s getting from the carbs you’re eating, it pulls stored energy from your fat cells and you lose weight. That’s why low-carb diets are so popular. They cut to the chase and stimulate fast weight loss.

Proteins

The second key macro is protein. In the same way that people vilify carbs, they glorify protein.

They aren’t all wrong. Protein is made of amino acids, which are the building blocks for all your cells. They’re essential to healthy body functions.

Proteins are also necessary for your body to build muscle. The way you build muscle is that when you exercise, the effort creates tiny micro-tears in the muscle fibers. When your body repairs those tears with materials from protein, it makes the muscles stronger.

That brings up an important misconception: protein itself doesn’t make you build muscle and get fit. It gives your body what it needs to build muscle as a result of your exercise. You still need to work out to gain muscle.

Fats

Fat has become a dirty word, but thanks to more and more nutritional education, we’re changing that misconception. Dietary fat isn’t the same as fat in your body. If you stop eating fat, it doesn’t mean your body will burn your fat cells to replace it.

Dietary fat is your body’s second source of energy after it has depleted the carbs and before it starts burning stored energy. Fat is also a vital part of your diet because it includes nutrients your body needs to operate at its best.

The key is choosing healthy fats, like avocado and eggs instead of high-fat sweets.

How to Balance Your Macros for Weight Loss

Now you know the three macros you need each day, but how much of each one do you need?

In general, you should aim to get 40% of your daily calories from carbs, 40% from proteins, and 20% from fat.

While that sounds simple, it takes some calculation. Let’s use Jane Doe as our example. Her daily goal is 1,340 calories. That means she should get 536 calories from carbs, 536 from proteins, and 268 from fats each day.

The problem is that nutrition labels list the grams of each macro in your food, not the calories. That’s another calculation you have to do.

Each gram of carbs and proteins contains about four calories. Each gram of fat contains about nine calories. That means Jane Doe needs to eat 134 grams of carbs, 134 grams of protein, and 30 grams of fat every day.

Keep in mind that this is all based on a general weight loss goal. Depending on your specific goals, a nutritionist might suggest changing these ratios. For instance, someone who wants to build muscle while they lose weight might need more protein.

Tips for Losing Weight While Counting Calories and Macros

It’s not about choosing between counting calories or balancing your macros. You need both to lose weight while staying healthy. You might be able to lose weight without considering your macros, but you could compromise your health.

Your results also won’t be the same if you don’t keep your macros in line. If you’ve ever wondered why some people who lose weight end up toned while others don’t, the macros are a common reason.

If you’re ready to get started, here are some tips:

1. Work the Numbers

Considering how much of this blog is dedicated to math, you can see how important numbers are in getting your diet right. People who say, “I’m just going to estimate how healthy things are,” rarely reach their goals.

It’s also important to re-work your numbers every so often. As you lose weight, your BMR will change and your activity levels might change too. Re-do your calculations and your goals every month or two depending on your progress.

2. Keep It As a Work in Progress

You need to recognize that these numbers aren’t an exact science. Everyone’s body is unique in the ways and rates at which it processes calories.

Studies even show that the numbers vary based on ethnicity and weight history. Monitor your progress and don’t be afraid to adjust your goals and percentages if necessary.

As you do this, pay attention to more than the scale. Do you feel run-down all the time? Are you too weak to work out? If so, it’s time for an adjustment.

3. Use Water for All It’s Worth

To be blunt, drinking water helps you lose weight. It’s a well-known fact in the medical community, but not all dieters recognize it.

Hydration helps you have the energy to work out and stay active. In some cases, people think they’re hungry when they’re actually thirsty. If you drink water when you feel hungry, it could prevent you from eating more than you need.

In many cases, people who drink water soon before a meal also eat less food. It’s a great technique to try if you tend to overeat or if you leave the table still feeling hungry.

4. Planning, Planning, and More Planning

Chances are that on-the-fly decisions have landed you in a position to want to lose weight in the first place. It’s impossible to estimate the calories in a dish if you don’t know how it was prepared.

Hitting your calorie and macro goals require planning ahead. Plan your meals in advance to get the balance you need. If you plan to go to a restaurant, look up the nutritional information if possible and plan your meal ahead of time, based on the numbers.

5. Don’t Try to Go It Alone

This one’s crucial. Study after study has shown that people who lose weight with a partner, coach, or buddy are more successful. Look to a professional like our weight loss coaches for knowledgeable guidance and emotional support.

Losing Weight With a Plan

For most people, weight loss isn’t a “wing it” type of task. In many cases, we aren’t aware of how unhealthy our food choices are until we look at the calorie content and the macros they contain.

The key is planning ahead. Medical researchers have learned so much about macros vs calories, the way our bodies work, and what causes weight loss. The information above can help you take advantage of it.

If you’re ready to get started and begin working toward your best body today, our 21 Day Body Transformation Challenge combines diet and exercise to transform your look. If you want to turn heads for the right reasons, find out more here.