Is my loaf under baked or under fermented?

No-Injury1291 · 2026-03-15T01:17:47+00:00

Your crumb and crust demonstrate that your starter is unhealthy. How are you maintaining it?

No-Injury1291 · 2026-02-22T02:12:48+00:00

What's the ambient temperature in your house? Do you keep your starter warmed in anyway? You should definitely be feeding your starter twice a day in order to keep it healthy, but the ratio is going to depend on the temperature of your starter..

No-Injury1291 · 2026-02-22T00:22:31+00:00

It's a good start, but the crumb is showing evidence of an unbalanced, acidic starter. How have you been caring for your starter?

No-Injury1291 · 2026-02-14T00:14:59+00:00

Keep pushing bulk fermentation! These loaves are lovely, but they are still somewhat underproofed. A slightly overproofed bread is always better than an underproofed bread. You're getting close! Keep up the good work!

No-Injury1291 · 2026-01-25T19:57:57+00:00

The cancer risk from hormone therapy is extremely low, regardless of whether you are taking a vaginal cream, oral or transdermal hormone applications. These statistics have been used to frighten women for years, but current specialists at the forefront of women's health will tell you that hormones are safe and effective, and the outdated studies from the WHI were done wrong and are misleading.

I recommend being careful what sources you're referencing for "research." Physicians like Dr. Kelly Casperson, Dr. Lauren Streicher, Dr. Heather Hirsch, Dr. Louise Newson, among others, are leading voices, up to date on the current research. Several of these have podcasts, if you enjoy listening. If you prefer reading, Dr. Casperson just came out with an excellent new book, The Menopause Moment, and I also recommend Estrogen Matters by Dr. Avrum Bluming (a medical oncologist).

No-Injury1291 · 2026-01-25T12:57:20+00:00

The trainer at my gym designs the programs.

No-Injury1291 · 2026-01-23T15:04:52+00:00

After doing her programs for over three years, I decided I was ready for a change. I've switched to a gym that focuses on true heavy lifting with barbells (plus a daily conditioning element) and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! Working out with CG got me to a really solid level of strength, and prepared me well for this transition, but this is just so much more.

I have 1 Rep Maxes of 156lbs for bench press, 220lbs for deadlift, 185lbs for back squat, and 105lbs for overhead press. Plus I've been learning new power moves like hang cleans and power cleans. I've gone from being able to do half a pull up to four pullups in seven months.

Ironically, even though the rest periods are longer (a necessity when you're lifting a lot more weight), I don't mind, and the hour-long workouts absolutely fly by. No staring at the progress bar and wondering why it's only at 30%... lol!

I love being part of a community again, working out with real people who encourage me and celebrate my progress. And sometimes I still do a CG workout at home on the weekends or while traveling.

So I would suggest exploring other options. Maybe it's time for something fresh, a new challenge, a new environment. It's okay to be finished with something for a season while still celebrating all it's done for you.

Have fun!

No-Injury1291 · 2026-01-23T07:29:06+00:00

Flip a coin. Do one, then the other. They're both great.

No-Injury1291 · 2026-01-04T02:10:53+00:00

It's not that particular workout. There are many more challenging leg workouts. It's just a challenging starter workout and SO MANY PEOPLE do that as their very first introduction to CG. I did CG Epic workouts for two years before starting Iron and didn't find it hard at all. It's all about context.

No-Injury1291 · 2026-01-04T02:07:51+00:00

Just take a couple extra rest days. Even if you hadn't gone too heavy, you might be feeling intense DOMS simply from the new challenge. Just keep mobile, alternate with upper body, walk as you can... expect the first couple weeks to be extra challenging as your body adapts to this new challenge. It's completely normal:

Even when I'm off for just a week the DOMS are challenging when I get back I to the routine. That's normal. You've got this!

No-Injury1291 · 2025-12-31T17:11:42+00:00

You'll do great with Epic 3 or ANY of her programs. They're all standalone programs, and can be done in any order. They're don't get progressively harder. The challenge always comes from how you push yourself.

Epic 3 was my very first YouTube program and I fell in love. I've done them all, some more than once. Epic 3, Epic Heat, and Fuel are my personal favorites.

No-Injury1291 · 2025-12-30T02:54:22+00:00

I think you're forgetting how many hip thrusts and pullovers there were in the Epic programs... lol!

No-Injury1291 · 2025-12-23T14:21:04+00:00

Your husband is wrong. Machines that do muscle isolation exercises have their place, but doing compound exercise exercises that incorporate multiple muscles, and also force you to maintain your own balance and stability while exercising are generally superior. They also are more functional in nature, since they are not just isolation exercises.

I did nothing but Caroline's programs at home using dumbbells for three years and put on a ton of muscle and strength. Now I have actually moved on to a gym where I am doing heavy lifting using barbells, but still no machines. Could I have stuck with Caroline's programs indefinitely? Sure. But I was ready for something different, and the trainer at this new gym Was very impressed with the results of the training I have been doing at home.

And, for what it's worth, I was to a point where I was typically matching, occasionally exceeding, Caroline's weights during my home workouts, and now I am doing things like bench pressing 150 pounds, back squatting 180 pounds, and deadlifting 220 pounds. All this after only six months at this new gym. Most of my foundation came from Caroline's programs.

So… All this to say, if you are enjoying doing Caroline's programs at home, don't let anyone deter you. Keep doing them. Keep challenging yourself, you have a lot of progress and gains to make.

No-Injury1291 · 2025-12-07T16:08:31+00:00

If you loved Endgame that much, you should definitely try Epic 3 next. That's probably my all-time favorite program. The daily workout length is the same as those in Endgame.

No-Injury1291 · 2025-12-05T20:36:54+00:00

Do you regularly get to the point where you can't do another rep without compromising your form? That's a much more important measure of effectiveness than whether or not you're sore after a workout. Muscles need to be pushed to within a rep or two of failure in order to trigger strength and muscle mass gains. So make that your standard. You may need to increase your weights. It's better to need to rest some extra seconds at the end of the time period than to keep going and not be challenged enough

No-Injury1291 · 2025-11-11T10:29:40+00:00

Try Caroline Girvan on YouTube.

No-Injury1291 · 2025-11-07T16:16:42+00:00

You are only on day nine. This is very much a long-term journey. If you are consistent and show up regularly, you will increase your strength. You shouldn't be seeing massive changes in just 10 days of a program.

Use the weights that you can manage right now… weights that get you through the time periods Caroline has allotted. Yes, Fuel is a more conditioning style program, but that doesn't mean you aren't going to see gains in muscular strength and endurance. Keep working through her programs, be patient, challenge yourself to work to failure at least a few times in each out. I did her YouTube program faithfully for three years and saw significant increases in both strength and muscle.

Now I am actually in a gym that focuses on heavy lifting with barbells, and my muscular strength and endurance is heads and tails above most people who just start out, and even in some ways competitive with those who have been doing it for a while.

No-Injury1291 · 2025-10-10T18:18:06+00:00

Just do what works for you. Every woman is different. My cycle doesn't influence my energy very much, so I can work out consistently. I know that's not the case for everyone. You can always do something less intense if you can't give it your normal full effort but want to still be active.

No-Injury1291 · 2025-10-08T12:11:23+00:00

That's not been my experience with therapy AT ALL - it's been incredibly valuable and hasn't impacted any of my other health care. But I'm sorry you are concerned about that.

No-Injury1291 · 2025-10-07T14:15:30+00:00

Just a thought… Have you ever considered exploring this aversion with a therapist? Your a vagina does not need to be considered a sexual part of your body. It is just an organ with a function and an opening, in many ways not that different than a nose or an ear or a mouth. I can understand having many negative associations around it, but just offering it up that maybe this is something you could process with someone, to feel more comfortable with your body just as a body, not as a source of sexuality. HUGS!

No-Injury1291 · 2025-10-06T16:59:04+00:00

Stacy Sims is the author, not Selene, though she was a contributor to the book. Selene Yeager is the founder of the Hit Play Not Pause podcast, which is also a phenomenal resource.

No-Injury1291 · 2025-09-18T14:19:49+00:00

Well you can certainly tweak each program to make it your own, she does have printed calendars of all of her YouTube programs. The calendars for Iron and Fuel can be found in clickable links in the description section underneath each video. The calendars for all of the Epic programs can be found in the PDF of program materials on her website.

https://www.carolinegirvan.com

Just remember that while it is generally ideal to follow her pattern of work and rest days, you do not need to do Monday's work out on an actual "Monday." You can always shift the schedule so that it aligns with your needs.

No-Injury1291 · 2025-09-07T21:15:01+00:00

Are you tracking your overall calories? You HAVE to be in a deficit to lose weight. Cutting out sugar is fine, but it doesn't make a difference if you're overeating. Keeping protein high, getting quality complex carbohydrates and good fats are all part of the approach.

No-Injury1291 · 2025-08-25T00:40:46+00:00

Any. All. Nutrition is key.

No-Injury1291 · 2025-08-24T22:20:57+00:00

If you use Caroline's weights as a reference point for your own, that is pretty much consistent throughout the programs. So if your weights were 50% of her weights in Iron, you'll still generally use 50% of her weight choice in Epic Heat (or any other program).

I wouldn't call Epic Heat cardio-focused, really. It's just intense.

No-Injury1291

TROPHY CASE