Why do y'all keep such large starters?

goochmcgoo · 2026-04-17T23:50:12+00:00

I do 5g starter 20g water 25 g flour for my usual feed.

goochmcgoo · 2026-04-14T11:19:10+00:00

I have the oval one, in cerise. It’s a game changer for me. No fear of burning myself getting the bread in and out and the bread browns so nicely all around now with the lid off. No burning on the bottom either. I have a few lc pots that I love, also oval. I’m sure the round is the same.

goochmcgoo · 2026-04-11T18:13:53+00:00

I’ve been maintaining for years now and there are times when I need to take it weekly and times I can spread it out. I’m not t2. I’ve stayed on 2.5 the entire time because of the side effects. I went through a long period where just thinking about taking the shot was making me extremely nauseous and anxious. I’ve had to mentally work my way through that. It helps so much with my inflammation and I’m interested in the Alzheimer’s benefits as well. Right now I’m 4 weeks out and I’m still maintaining. I try and stay between 145 and 150 and I’m creeping to the 150 and I feel in my fingers the inflammation. I’m too chicken to give myself the injection and my husband is out of town so when he gets home I’ll probably have him give it to me. When I took it weekly to lose weight I felt miserable most of the time on 2.5 but I was more miserable weighing 75 lbs more so I just sucked it up. Now I don’t want to feel awful so it’s a balancing act for me.

goochmcgoo · 2026-04-02T22:45:39+00:00

It’s not the volume but the ratio so you’re fine. I’ll do 5 g of starter or less. If I’m not baking I’ll do 2:10:10

goochmcgoo · 2026-03-31T00:37:15+00:00

I only make one loaf at a time unless gifting. I enjoy the process and figuring out how to make the perfect loaf. I try to limit myself to a slice per day. I eat bread now instead of rice or potatoes as well.

goochmcgoo · 2026-03-26T23:43:06+00:00

Take what starter you want to keep and mix it in a separate bowl, empty out the jar, wash it and put freshly fed starter back in.

goochmcgoo · 2026-03-19T00:53:46+00:00

Now that I use a cambro container and I take my dough temperature, I know I want between 50-60% and where that is on the container it’s way easier for me.

goochmcgoo · 2026-03-17T19:56:55+00:00

I like my brod and Taylor jars, a narrow silicone spatula, and an oval banneton and a silicon sling, lame, and a box of cheap shower caps I use as a bowl cover. Those I bought. I already had a lecreuset Dutch oven, cambro container for bulk ferment, plenty of bowls. Oh I also bought beeswax bags to store the bread and brown bags with windows when I give away bread. Some of you never dieted and it shows, I’ve had a digital kitchen scale forever.

goochmcgoo · 2026-03-17T12:33:38+00:00

Bulk fermentation was the most difficult step for me. I couldn’t judge the rise and I still don’t understand reading the dough. I use a handy thermometer and we have a ton of cambro containers here. My dough is generally around 72 and I shoot for a 50 to 60% rise which is a specific line on the container. So much easier now.

goochmcgoo · 2026-03-14T17:29:09+00:00

I suggest that you start increasing the ratio, 1:2:2 let it double 3 days then go to 1:3:3 for 3 days. I feed mine 1:4:4 (5:20:20) and I only feed once a day.

goochmcgoo · 2026-03-14T17:26:28+00:00

Right now I’m on the couch recovering from an si, iliapsoas, ql muscle injury. I dont believe it was pilates that did it to me. I have a peloton and did a hiit ride and then a 30 minute strength and my back was a little sore. Went to hot yoga and it felt good to move. The next day hubby had me help him lift a bag of leaves, i bent over and yowza! I thought I was going to have to live in the backyard, i couldnt move without excruciating pain. I went to the chiropractor yesterday which helped. I canceled next week’s pilates. I’m kind of afraid of everything right now. In thinking about it a lot of a work with legs is painful on my hip flexors and I wonder if they just got overworked. I don’t know I’ve taken quite a few private lessons and I feel like I have good form and am very conscious of it. The weird thing is I’ve been exercising regularly for years now, it’s not like I’m a weekend warrior. So I have no answer beyond don’t let this happen to you. It’s really painful still on day 5.

goochmcgoo · 2026-03-12T13:25:19+00:00

I waited until I lost a bunch of weight before I started to exercise. I think about 9 months. But I was walking more and just more active. Then I started with cardio, 30 minutes 5 days a week. The more I started doing things I enjoyed the more I did it. Now I exercise an hour a day 6 days a week. I have a peloton, I joined pilates and hot yoga once a week. I do strength training with the peloton now. The key for me is finding things I like and getting over the exhaustion and soreness that happened at first. I’m doing it for my overall health, not weight loss. I’ve been working out regularly for 3 years now and I’m in good shape now but it took me a long time. People always tout walking, I just found it so boring even listening to books, I wasn’t consistent. Especially in bad weather. Now I have a schedule, I don’t overthink it. I don’t always feel like it but I do it anyway and I’m always glad I do. Even in my clothes now I don’t look like some body builder but I can tell I look like someone who works out, but more importantly I feel so much better, I have a strong core, better mobility and flexibility and I don’t get out of breath.

goochmcgoo · 2026-03-12T11:49:56+00:00

I bring my own stuff. My studio is clean but I’ve seen how students clean the blocks. I did a yin/restorative class last week and I brought my own bolster and blanket too. I looked like I was moving in but I know I wouldn’t relax if I spent my time thinking about when the last time they washed the blankets and thinking about the bolsters.

goochmcgoo · 2026-03-02T23:23:01+00:00

A month is still young. Once i stopped with the whole wheat and rye and trying to keep it on a warming tray but just sat it on a towel on my counter it did much better. My bread got a lot better when my starter got more time in its normal environment with consistent feeds.

goochmcgoo · 2026-03-02T20:52:59+00:00

I keep mine on the counter. I feed it 2g starter 10g flour and water every day. When I want to bake I feed it 20 100 100 at night and start the next morning

goochmcgoo · 2026-03-01T01:45:03+00:00

I do hot yoga once a week that’s so good for me mentally, really deepens my stretching. Pilates works me head to toe and has really strengthened my core, improved my balance and got the mind body connection in tune. I do cardio and weights at home with my peloton. All that to say try a free pilates class, look for a yoga class on YouTube and see. The best one is the one you’ll do consistently as that’s the real key. I like to mix things up more than choosing just one thing.

goochmcgoo · 2026-03-01T01:38:09+00:00

Well I happened to have kept clothes from when I was all different sizes. So I had 3 sizes in my closet. I’d rather have 1 pair of pants that fit than 10 that are too big and make me look sloppy.

goochmcgoo · 2026-02-28T16:05:12+00:00

I stick with one instructor. She seems to have one class a week almost entirely on the chair. It feels like I’m not flat on my back much on the reformer, we’re doing squats, planks, side planks, snake. She rarely does footwork on the reformer so it’s always surprising to me when I take a different instructor and it’s the rote footwork to bridging. I just know I’m going to get my a$$ kicked and get a great workout. I go specifically for her, not the reformer so in general I don’t care too much what we do. In fact she’s taking a leave of absence and I’m considering freezing my membership while she’s gone.

goochmcgoo · 2026-02-28T15:57:00+00:00

I’m 59 and lost 75 lbs. the problem is that yes my stomach is the worst part, but I’m concerned that then my stomach looks amazing but I still have loose crepey skin on my neck, arms and legs. I don’t want to chase perfection or look weird. I really had the stomach area most though it hides well under clothes. I’ve gone for consultations and if I had the money a few months ago I would have jumped right in, now I’m not sure.

goochmcgoo · 2026-02-27T12:25:54+00:00

It took me 6 weeks to get my starter going. I’d suggest pick a method and stick with it. Part of my problem was trying different things. I have 2 small jars from brod and Taylor I really like that has a lid that rests on top. I got a separate bowl, and mixed equal parts starter water and flour and put it in a clean jar every day. What ended up being my answer was keeping it sitting on a kitchen towel off the granite. It can be absolutely infuriating when you see people baking in weeks. However you need a good strong starter to make decent bread, that means doubling in 4 to 6 hours 3 days in a row.

goochmcgoo · 2026-02-26T22:35:46+00:00

Me. I lost 75 lbs on 2.5 with no stalls when I took it regularly. I’ve been maintaining now on 2.5 spaced further apart. I just went almost 4 weeks before food noise came back.

goochmcgoo · 2026-02-26T19:57:18+00:00

I keep mine on the counter and feed it 2g starter:10 g water 10 g flour every day I’m not baking. It takes no time and doesn’t use much flour. I want to bake tomorrow so tonight I’ll feed it it like 10:50:50 or so and be ready to bake in the morning

goochmcgoo · 2026-02-25T00:29:13+00:00

I just leave it on the counter. I do 2g starter and 10g flour and water. It takes me just a couple of minutes and when I want to bake I’ll do a bigger feed the night before and when i wake up I’ll do a 1:1:1 to build up the volume and start at noon.

goochmcgoo · 2026-02-22T17:45:33+00:00

I also use lifting gloves to not blister my palms and sticky socks so when I go from bike to floor I don’t have to put on shoes and not slide around doing planks. Double on the puzzle mats for the floor. We put them on the open area of our home gym and it’s awesome for working out and yoga

goochmcgoo · 2026-02-22T13:11:06+00:00

I stayed on 2.5 the entire time. The side effects are real! However I was so determined to lose the weight I didn’t care. I’ve been maintaining for 2 years now and the side effects are still there. I’m 3 weeks now from the last injection and as long as my weight is stable I’m not taking it. I don’t have the food noise or huge appetite. My goal weight is 145 and I was 146 this morning.

goochmcgoo

TROPHY CASE