#034 – Weight loss is a common struggle for many people. In this episode, you will hear the inspiring story of Carla Jungbluth on how she lost 88 lbs with better nutrition (no diet) and incorporated running as part of her lifestyle.
Topics Covered:
- Improve your nutrition without dieting
- How to start running when overweight
- Benefits of being surrounded by a supportive community
Today’s Guest
Carla Jungbluth
Carla was born in Mexico now living in Germany, a mom of two, and running since 2018. She has lost 88 lbs (40 kilos) and has run three marathons, two ultra-marathons, and many half marathons.
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- Instagram – @run.smile.love
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Richard Conner 0:00
Welcome to Episode 34. Today we’re going to hear from our guest who’s going to talk about her tremendous weight loss story and how she did it by paying more attention to nutrition and going from not running at all to becoming an ultra runner. Hope you enjoy. Here’s what you can look forward to on this episode of Inspire Virtual Runs Podcast.
Carla Jungbluth 0:26
And it was a big a big help because he told me I when he arrived at some point, everything is hurting and here and here. No, no, no, no, no, I don’t want to hear anything about and you just keep going. We’re going to talk about nice things. And yeah, we went through it. It was and at the end they were waiting for me all of them there. The last 500 meters was like, wow, it’s just like, give me the last push that I need ir was amazing was really an amazing experience.
Intro/Outro 1:01
Welcome to Inspire Virtual Runs Podcast. Whether you are new to running or seasoned. Get tips in the inspiration that you need to achieve your health and fitness goals. Now, here’s your host, Richard Conner.
Richard Conner 1:18
Hi, everyone. Welcome to Inspire Virtual Runs Podcast. I am here with today’s guest, Carla Jungbluth. Carla was born in Mexico now living in Germany, mom of two and running since 2018. She has lost 88 pounds or 40 kilos, and has run three marathons, two ultra marathons, and many half marathons. So welcome to the show Carla.
Carla Jungbluth 1:44
Hello, Rich. Thank you for inviting me its an honor to be here. Very happy.
Richard Conner 1:50
It’s awesome. I’m so happy we’re finally able to get together. And you have a great story. Definitely want to hear more about, you know, your fitness and health journey as well as your running journey, which is quite impressive. So this is kind of kick things off and learn a little bit more about you tell us a little bit about yourself.
Carla Jungbluth 2:11
Yeah, well, I have been living here in Germany for 20 years now. And I was leaving before and Mexico five years. And before that, I was in Venezuela living a couple of years. If I tell you the whole year thinking you will know my age. And that’s kind of a secret for Instagram. But yeah, I have been living in, in many countries now. And I’m finally here in Germany, which feels like home. And yeah, it’s a beautiful country.
Richard Conner 2:49
That’s cool. That’s so cool. And I’m so excited because we’ve had guests from other countries on on the show before. So it’s super exciting to have somebody from from Germany and as traveled or lived in many different countries. That’s super cool.
Carla Jungbluth 3:04
Yeah, it’s um, international. I get a little bit from everywhere. Yeah,
Richard Conner 3:10
That’s great. That’s great. And you know, I follow you on Instagram, and you have great posts about your your health and fitness journey and about your running and you’re always smiling, which is, which is awesome. So tell us a little bit about that. Tell us a little bit about like, kind of how your your health and fitness journey started.
Carla Jungbluth 3:27
Well, it started almost four years ago, and he was like the emergency brake that I needed to take. Because of my health, it was really bad at that moment at that point. And the doctors were very clear with me, they told me if you continue this path, you won’t be able to see your grandchildren and I was like, Oh my gosh, this is this is not where I want to be. I want to be there for my kids to see them grow. You know. And so I have been struggling with my weight since since I can remember it was like always doing diet and trying to lose weight and gaining again to double and then I decided to to open an Instagram account. Like last chance to change my way of eating. And there was at the beginning was not run, smile love. It was no diet journey. Because I wanted to lose weight without restrictions without eating everything because at the end of the day, you cannot go with with that extreme diet for your whole life. So I decided to start counting calories for the beginning. To know what I’m taking and how much calories I’m burning during the day, which was terrifying for me, because I was eating almost 5000 calories a day. And I was just moving 1000 steps. So if you do the math that was not gonna go well. So, I and my kids were like, Ma, are you really gonna go on Instagram? Are you sure about? It was like, Yeah, I want to do it. And it was kind of fun to see. People follow me and, you know, motivating me. I was like, wow, yeah, I like this. I am, I can do this. I’m strong enough to do this. So So it started. And it was, it was not a quick process. It was a really long process. It was it slowly. But it worked. It worked.
Richard Conner 5:56
And it’s interesting that you that you started with social media, and you started with Instagram. So let’s kind of talk about each each step along the way. So first, you made the decision that you were going to take your health and fitness seriously, because of the of what your doctors told you. Yeah. And that was kind of the turning point for you to to make that decision. Yeah. Now, how did you come to the point of choosing like Instagram or social media? Like what? How did that help you in your journey?
Carla Jungbluth 6:25
Since because if you, you post something, is there, so people are expecting you to do it? And I there were many people they were struggling even more than than myself. So I didn’t want to disappoint them. You know, it’s like my kids were also seen that they were following me they were like, Oh, my mind is doing that is doing well. So chew. They were really excited about it. I was like a little rock star. I feel still like a rockstar.
Richard Conner 6:58
like you are definitely
Carla Jungbluth 7:00
Yeah, thank you. And yeah, it was look like I was at the beginning, just posting my, my, my food, what I was eating. And like, I wanted to be healthy. Like I didn’t want to do to do just fast food. I was cooking. I cannot cook that well. But I tried. I did my best. And yeah, and then started coming more and more followers and people who were telling me how inspiring I am. And most of it because why I was doing it. I was doing it because of my kids. And because I wanted to see them grow. And and yeah, it was it was reading the comments and getting those messages. Like every stone I I achieve. It was amazing. It’s still amazing to get those messages that I think oh my god, I’m inspiring people and motivating people. And to get a better life. Because I know what it is to be there. Like almost weighing 100 kilos is. It’s not easy. It’s not easy. Yeah.
Richard Conner 8:14
And that’s interesting. And I love what you touched upon, you know, kind of break it down a little bit. So the first thing is, is about your why, right? When you when you had the when you spoke to your doctors, you decided that you were going to make a change for your kids. And that was your why that’s why you’re gonna make that change and your grandkids and in the future. And that I think that’s great. And, and then the accountability piece. So you kind of use it sounds like you use social media for the accountability, right? If if people are watching, and that’s gonna make you want to keep or maintain your new habits, right, your healthy habits. That’s, that’s awesome. And we talk about that on Inspire Virtual Runs all the time, about really knowing your y as well as having that accountability partner or group or way and for you, it’s your Instagram.
Carla Jungbluth 9:01
Yeah, this is so important to have it focus, you know why you are doing it and to get things done. That’s, I think in every in every part in your life. In at work, or, you know, when you know, where you are doing things, where do you want to go? Where do you want to get things get. It’s not easy, but you get through it. Richard Conner 9:27
Yeah, yeah, definitely. And, you know, we’ll talk a little bit about like how you did it. So you mentioned in the beginning, you started to count calories. And you saw just to see where you’re at and you’re you know, you’re what you’re taking in was much more than what you’re burning and it’s it’s something that I think is a controversial topic about should you count calories, should you not count calories? You can lose weight without counting. Like I think there’s a lot of different viewpoints. And you know, for me personally, I’m a lot like you in that regard where I want to see how I’m doing right I want to see what the numbers look like. Because then from there, you can make the right changes or make the right choices, you can see where you need to adjust. So so I like that. But so did you continue counting calories over time? Or did you kind of change the way you’re approaching it over time?
Carla Jungbluth 10:18
No, I right now, I am not counting calories anymore. Like I stopped after two years after doing it two years. Okay. And yeah, I I just, I was not really counting them to see where to stop eating. Now, I was like, I didn’t want you to know, really, really well. Just because you didn’t know this, but I didn’t. I didn’t eat any vegetables before. I used to eat just cucumbers and tomatoes. That’s it. That’s there was no more greens or veggies in my diet before. So I counting calories, I realized that vegetables are like, they don’t have much calories, but a lot of nutritions then that’s I say, oh my god, what am I missing here? And I started to try new recipes. And, and of course, I love pizzas. I love them. But I wasn’t in the big ones. Just the half of it. And with salad and you know, you get you get like, adventurous with food. Trying. And like I told you I didn’t have any restrictions. I was not saying no, I cannot eat this. I am on a diet. I say I was also Yes. Like, are you sure you heard the diet? No, I’m not. But but you’re losing weight who would either say No, I still I will eat that or a piece of cake. Yes, of course. I was never saying no, Richard never ever today. They tell me do you want? Yes. Yes. It’s just the quantity of I eat everything, actually. I mean,
Richard Conner 12:09
that’s great. That’s great. And I think and I think for you know, for those who are listening, if they you know, if diet has been a struggle, or the mentality might be, well, if I go on a diet, or if I try to lose weight, that means that I’m going to be deprived, right, I’m going to be deprived of the food that I like, I’m going to be deprived of what I want to want to eat when I want to eat. And it sounds like in your case, you found a nice balance of being able to eat what you want to eat. But just trolling the the quantity, as you said, the amount of food that you’re eating, and also adding in more nutritious foods. And yeah, it
Carla Jungbluth 12:47
was it was a balance and right now, eating intuitive. Like it’s just it works. It works for me at the moment I don’t count calories was just I know now, like, in my mind is I remember okay, if I ate a big a big I don’t know, a hamburger with french fries. And everyday it’s a lot. I know that I mean, but before I I didn’t, I didn’t I know it was a bad food. But I didn’t know that it was that bad. I mean, because like I could have been eating like three times a day hamburgers with french fries, and then pizza and cake. And yeah, why not some some chips? Was was very bad. But yeah, I found the balance and doing this. I know it’s long term was is what I wanted to do. It was not short, short term. And yeah, I’m trying to give that to my kids, which is not easy. Because it’s it’s most of the time is healthy food. When you change your lifestyle, it just is a part of you. It’s like, I don’t know how when it happened, but it happened and I’m very happy of it.
Richard Conner 14:12
Right. And you’ve been very successful at it. And you know, you’ve been very successful in the in the nutrition side. And I know at some point you decided to bring in exercise. Yeah. And running was a big part of that. So So tell us about that. Like how did running come into the picture then?
Carla Jungbluth 14:27
Yeah, well, counting calories was like, okay 1000 steps, are they no way I need to move. So I started moving and when you wait so much is painful. It’s just painful. So it was spending a lot of time to go just for a walk. And I thought no, it has to be a way to to do it faster to get my steps faster. So I started running. So I
Richard Conner 14:59
Just like that
Carla Jungbluth 14:59
Just like that, just like that was just let’s try it. So I waited until it was dark until there was no people around with my my clothes on and then went for a run, I start to run in 15 seconds. 15 seconds, which were, oh my gosh, it was just so painful. My head was, oh, it was, was bad. It was bad. But then I was having one minute break. And that was alone three kilometers. It was like a journey. It was a journey every time but I kept going. And I and I could see the changes. I could see that I could go further like not just 15 seconds, but one minute running. I was like, kind of run one minute. It’s not. It’s not like for most of the people walking is like, you do it. In a bed running is not that simple. Not when you have this kind of weight over you because when you run you have to move social on your bodies. Like it’s it’s it’s painful. It was very painful. I don’t know how he went through it. But yeah, he got it got better. With the time I guess it took me around three months, I could run three kilometers are the ones which was a big, a big success for me. But I also lost weight, running and eating better. So it goes. It was easier with the time. So and I started enjoying it enjoying and going for a run but not late at night. So admit in at noon, where people were around, and they were Yeah, you can do this. Like oh my god, do I look that terrible? Die?
Richard Conner 16:56
Oh, no.
Carla Jungbluth 16:57
Yeah, I thought. But there were They were always thumbs up for me when I was running. Yeah.
Richard Conner 17:04
That’s nice. That’s really nice to hear and do. Like, how did you start that? Like, how did you think to do the 15 minute I’m sorry, a 15 second run? And then one minute walk? Was that a program that you were following? Or that was just your way of just saying let’s just see how far I could run?
Carla Jungbluth 17:22
No, there was an application. And they pick out can say it here. But there was a there was an epically an application as some is run. And it takes you to get your your first 5k it starts slowly with running, working, running, working and you do improve with the time and you listen to do an episode. So it was fun. All of a sudden there were some bees running behind. I went you run at night. You run
Richard Conner 17:57
So what happened next you got to the to the 3k within the three months, which is great achievement, and everybody’s cheering for you. So then where did you take it from there?
Carla Jungbluth 18:06
Yeah, well, in in that time, I got more followers. I got more people, I made more runners, they were like, impressed to see that I was running. Because at the time I was not look like I am today. But my gosh, they were they were motivating me all the time, all the time. And I started to train for my first 5k And yeah, it was it was very interesting. It was like I still first time running. You mean among people. It like for me was like, unbelievable. I cuz I thought I was never going to be able to do that. I thought that was one of the always running at night where no one was looking at me was like, yeah, and then I made my my mother is not my best friend. But it’s a very, very, very, very good friend. It’s she trained me. She told me, girl, you can run more than 5k and you can run more than three times a week. I was like, I don’t know. I’m not so sure about it. She said of course you can. Of course you can. And she told me she was gonna train me for my 10k race. I see okay, let’s give it a go. i Yeah, we started training and then we met because I was all over the internet. And then she got through the same way like she lost a lot of weight and start to run in. So she knew what I was going through. I was a big help. And when you have something so someone so close to you and detail you Go go You can do it because sometimes I didn’t want it to I was oh, it’s raining. Who cares? Just go. I was like, oh, it’s snowing. She was go. I was like, Okay, I’m gonna go. And she kept pushing and yeah. So she trained me for my first 8k For my for my first marathon half marathon.
Richard Conner 20:25
So you went from 10k to half marathon half marathon? Yes.
Carla Jungbluth 20:29
Wow. Yes. So it was like, she told me you are gonna have in one month. We can run a half marathon. I was like, I don’t think I got it on course, it’s gonna be your birthday is your birthday. So that’s gonna be your birthday present. I was like, Okay, so let’s do this
Richard Conner 20:50
Great motivation.
Carla Jungbluth 20:52
Yeah. And we did it.
She came. Se lives in Luxembourg. And she came around with me. Another good friend of us came also. And they were they were pushing hard. Like, I was running local races are for me very, very difficult. Because most of the time they are professional runners. Like they run really, really quick. So they were coming back. And I was first on my way. My first thing came, they were almost done. I was like, yeah, that’s why I like to run bigger places, bigger races. I did it. I did. It took me a little bit longer than expected. But
Richard Conner 21:37
No, that’s great. I mean, just even between your the 10k and the half marathon time. Just in one month. I think that’s amazing. I mean, I could share with you that I’ve been running for a very long time. But I never ran very long distances. So I never really ran anything more than a 10k. And last year, I ran a 10k for the first time like as a race. Yeah. I think it was like three months later, two or three months later, I ran my first half marathon in my life. So I trained for almost three months for a half marathon and you did it in a month. You should be proud of that.
Carla Jungbluth 22:14
Yeah, I actually I do it not for the for the pace, because many, many races are for that to prove yourself. But I do it for the fun. You know, it just just looking right into the left and see all those runners they’re doing the same and smiling and having fun that’s just an amazing feeling. That’s just an amazing feeling. But I have to say I always look if I’m the last accountable.
Richard Conner 22:44
Feel better about that.
Carla Jungbluth 22:46
Even if I’m the last one, it doesn’t matter. Doesn’t matter. I’m there. I’m there. And that’s a big a big achievement for me.
Richard Conner 22:54
And it didn’t stop there for you. So you did the 5k the 10k the half marathon and I know you just kept going so what was like the next milestone for you?
Carla Jungbluth 23:03
It was my first marathon. Okay, it was after after my half marathon two months later, I I run my first marathon. That’s amazing. You can imagine us without training. Yeah, my friend told me you are running hambourg marathon. I was like, under training or we were doing any training. You didn’t need a twin you already. Like, okay, we run 32 kilometers before that. And he told me yes, you can do this. If you can run 32 kilometers, you can run for it too.
Richard Conner 23:46
Right? And how did it go for you? And you did it.
Carla Jungbluth 23:48
I did it. I did it. I got lucky. I am petrified of runners group. It’s like, we are 12. And when when it’s possible, we try to meet in races and run together. So I got a lot to do. They were there. And one of them. Join me at kilometer 30 and he went with me until the end. And he was a big a big help because he told me when he arrived at some point everything is hurting, here and here. No, no, no, no, no, I don’t want to hear anything about and you just keep going. We’re going to talk about nice things. And yeah, we went through it. It was and at the end they were waiting for me all of them there the last 500 meters was like wow, it’s just like, give me the last push that I need. Yeah, it was it was amazing. It was really an amazing experience.
Richard Conner 24:49
Awesome. That’s awesome. And and I know again, it doesn’t stop there. Because you just you just keep going right you just keep keep pushing yourself So, so what was next after that?
Carla Jungbluth 25:02
The next was in Berlin Berlin marathon that I could run Berlin marathon every year if possible since, no, just incredible. It’s just incredible. So many people sharing the same passion. She’s all ages, you know, just in Utah go along the way with people and you tell stories, even if you don’t know them. This is crazy. How people are open, and they share their their stories along the way. I know where my limits are concise. I try to enjoy it without getting injured. Yeah, yeah. So so if you have the opportunity to recharge, you should come to Berlin. I run a marathon.
Richard Conner 25:51
Okay. Yeah. Well, I made two trips to Germany. So I’ll have to add it back to my list then. But, you know, I haven’t run a marathon, which I haven’t committed to yet. So that’s something that that I got to think about. Yeah.
Carla Jungbluth 26:05
It’s about time. What at least once. It’s amazing. It’s just, I mean, a marathon? Well, for me, like, the biggest I thought, I thought it was, I thought it was the the biggest achievement until I realized I wanted to run farther.
Richard Conner 26:26
Yeah, that’s right. So so tell us a little bit about that.
Carla Jungbluth 26:30
Yeah. So after running a marathon, I searched research a little bit more what, what’s, what’s next? And then I thought, okay, that’s 50k. I mean, minus 50k. Says, eight kilometers more than a marathon. Hi, can do this. I mean, it’s just like, a little bit more than just were eight kilometers. And yeah, so I sign up for my first ultra marathon. Wow. Yeah, it was 55 kilometres. Yeah, I was it was a nice experience, but I was not know ready for it. I wasn’t already.
Richard Conner 27:14
Because a different kind of race. Once you get to that disc.
Carla Jungbluth 27:17
Yeah, it’s very different. And it was, before that I did three months cytomel challenge that’s running everyday 10 kilometers and doing 100 Situps 100 Push ups and 100 squats for three months. And four weeks later running the ultra marathon. It was just too much. It was still like I thought it was that was my training, right? I had a bad time I was sick of my I had stomachache, and I didn’t have enough energy. But when I leave is the place where the races are gone are along the river. So you don’t have any more options. Either go back 30 kilometers, or go for a swim. I’ll keep going. It was just I kept going. And yeah, it was tough. It was really tough. It was really tough because it was during the night and even if when my friend was with me, I told her you know what? I’m not feeling well, you just go you just go Just leave me here. I will get to the finish line. At some point. I yeah, I did it. I did it.
Richard Conner 28:40
That’s amazing. That’s amazing. I mean, Carla, this is just an amazing story. amazing journey that you’ve had, you know, all the way from, you know, really focused on your diet and just eating healthy to running right to to improve your fitness all the way to ultra marathon and in a relatively short amount of time. Yeah, that’s that’s truly incredible. So, you know, I’m thinking like, as we kind of wind down here, I’d love to, you know, know, like, what’s next for you. You know, you’ve done the ultra marathon like what are you thinking for the future? Yeah, well,
Carla Jungbluth 29:11
my next race is going to be 100 kilometers. Okay, that’s, that’s my goal. I I did during this pandemic, I was training for my 70 kilometers ultramarathon that didn’t take place because of the situation. So I did it by myself. I did when I when I say these a thing. Oh my God, you are really crazy. Yeah, I ran 70 kilometres solo ultra marathon and wow, they’re along the way. I thought I need to run 100 kilomenters. I need to know how it is gonna be to run 100 kilometers. So I am gonna start after June 17. My, my, my training for that,
Richard Conner 30:09
So you’re gonna train for this one though.
Carla Jungbluth 30:11
I’m gonna try. I’m gonna do. Yeah, yeah. And I hope it goes well. Yeah, so it’s gonna be 100 kilometers, 100 miles, and then 24 hours ultramarathons, those are my goals. If I can get those, I will be happy and thankful.
Richard Conner 30:31
We’ll be watching. So I hope I hope that helps. You made that commitment we’ll be we’ll be watching you on on your social media. So this, this is great. And thank you again for sharing your story. I’m thinking, you know, for the listeners who are listening to your story. And they may be in different points in their journey, right? They may be just starting, they may be thinking about starting, they don’t know how to start, like, for someone who may be in your situation back then what would you say to inspire them to start take their health and fitness seriously and start kind of going down this path?
Carla Jungbluth 31:08
Yeah, it’s just like, I know, many people have heard this, but it’s never too late. It’s never too late to start. And start now, just in this moment. Because if you say I will start tomorrow, I will start on Monday, I will start in two weeks. It never comes to that day. So just just now, it doesn’t have to be like you have to run an ultra marathon. Just you know, just start slowly, but But stay on it. And be patient. Be patient. Because if you wanna do it long term, it has. It takes time. It’s not just a shortcut thing. But you get along the way. You love that. And could you just can’t stop. I know what I’m talking about. This is like, it gets like an unhealthy addiction. Like, I want to run and I just okay, I have a lot of more things than just running. But run in space. My favorite series. I love run is just Yeah,
Richard Conner 32:18
Very cool. Very cool. Carla, thank you so much. This has been awesome. How can the Inspire virtual runs community like find you and follow you online?
Carla Jungbluth 32:28
Oh, we thank you very much Richard. Well, I am on Instagram at Run. Smile. Love. You can find me there. I I just my running journey. They’re there for you to follow. Thank you very much for inviting me. Recharge was a pleasure.
Richard Conner 32:46
All right, perfect. Yeah, thank you so much for coming on the show. And I’ll put this in the show notes. So it’ll make it easier for the listeners to find you. And with that, you know, thanks again and have a great day.
Carla Jungbluth 32:58
Yeah, thank you so much, wish you the same.
Richard Conner 33:04
What an inspiring conversation with Carla. Here my three takeaways from the conversation. The first one is about nutrition. There are many different ways to approach nutrition. You can count calories, not count calories, find what works for you, and stick with it. Second, is you can run even if you may not believe you could run as long as your doctor hasn’t told you not to run. Carla started in a place that it was very difficult. And she worked her way up from not running at all, all the way to becoming an ultra runner. And the third takeaway is be the motivation for others. Carla talked about how her community was cheering for her and giving her the motivation but in turn, she was motivating them with all that she had accomplished. So really hope you enjoyed this episode. Please subscribe so you get notified about new episodes. And with that, thanks for listening, and have a great day.
Intro/Outro 34:08
That’s it for this episode of Inspire Virtual Runs Podcast. If you enjoyed this podcast, please leave a review. Also, be sure to click the subscribe button so you don’t miss an episode. Thanks for listening.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
Welcome to Episode 34. Today we’re going to hear from our guest who’s going to talk about her tremendous weight loss story and how she did it by paying more attention to nutrition and going from not running at all to becoming an ultra runner. Hope you enjoy. Here’s what you can look forward to on this episode of Inspire Virtual Runs Podcast.
Carla Jungbluth 0:26
And it was a big a big help because he told me I when he arrived at some point, everything is hurting and here and here. No, no, no, no, no, I don’t want to hear anything about and you just keep going. We’re going to talk about nice things. And yeah, we went through it. It was and at the end they were waiting for me all of them there. The last 500 meters was like, wow, it’s just like, give me the last push that I need ir was amazing was really an amazing experience.
Intro/Outro 1:01
Welcome to Inspire Virtual Runs Podcast. Whether you are new to running or seasoned. Get tips in the inspiration that you need to achieve your health and fitness goals. Now, here’s your host, Richard Conner.
Richard Conner 1:18
Hi, everyone. Welcome to Inspire Virtual Runs Podcast. I am here with today’s guest, Carla Jungbluth. Carla was born in Mexico now living in Germany, mom of two and running since 2018. She has lost 88 pounds or 40 kilos, and has run three marathons, two ultra marathons, and many half marathons. So welcome to the show Carla.
Carla Jungbluth 1:44
Hello, Rich. Thank you for inviting me its an honor to be here. Very happy.
Richard Conner 1:50
It’s awesome. I’m so happy we’re finally able to get together. And you have a great story. Definitely want to hear more about, you know, your fitness and health journey as well as your running journey, which is quite impressive. So this is kind of kick things off and learn a little bit more about you tell us a little bit about yourself.
Carla Jungbluth 2:11
Yeah, well, I have been living here in Germany for 20 years now. And I was leaving before and Mexico five years. And before that, I was in Venezuela living a couple of years. If I tell you the whole year thinking you will know my age. And that’s kind of a secret for Instagram. But yeah, I have been living in, in many countries now. And I’m finally here in Germany, which feels like home. And yeah, it’s a beautiful country.
Richard Conner 2:49
That’s cool. That’s so cool. And I’m so excited because we’ve had guests from other countries on on the show before. So it’s super exciting to have somebody from from Germany and as traveled or lived in many different countries. That’s super cool.
Carla Jungbluth 3:04
Yeah, it’s um, international. I get a little bit from everywhere. Yeah,
Richard Conner 3:10
That’s great. That’s great. And you know, I follow you on Instagram, and you have great posts about your your health and fitness journey and about your running and you’re always smiling, which is, which is awesome. So tell us a little bit about that. Tell us a little bit about like, kind of how your your health and fitness journey started.
Carla Jungbluth 3:27
Well, it started almost four years ago, and he was like the emergency brake that I needed to take. Because of my health, it was really bad at that moment at that point. And the doctors were very clear with me, they told me if you continue this path, you won’t be able to see your grandchildren and I was like, Oh my gosh, this is this is not where I want to be. I want to be there for my kids to see them grow. You know. And so I have been struggling with my weight since since I can remember it was like always doing diet and trying to lose weight and gaining again to double and then I decided to to open an Instagram account. Like last chance to change my way of eating. And there was at the beginning was not run, smile love. It was no diet journey. Because I wanted to lose weight without restrictions without eating everything because at the end of the day, you cannot go with with that extreme diet for your whole life. So I decided to start counting calories for the beginning. To know what I’m taking and how much calories I’m burning during the day, which was terrifying for me, because I was eating almost 5000 calories a day. And I was just moving 1000 steps. So if you do the math that was not gonna go well. So, I and my kids were like, Ma, are you really gonna go on Instagram? Are you sure about? It was like, Yeah, I want to do it. And it was kind of fun to see. People follow me and, you know, motivating me. I was like, wow, yeah, I like this. I am, I can do this. I’m strong enough to do this. So So it started. And it was, it was not a quick process. It was a really long process. It was it slowly. But it worked. It worked.
Richard Conner 5:56
And it’s interesting that you that you started with social media, and you started with Instagram. So let’s kind of talk about each each step along the way. So first, you made the decision that you were going to take your health and fitness seriously, because of the of what your doctors told you. Yeah. And that was kind of the turning point for you to to make that decision. Yeah. Now, how did you come to the point of choosing like Instagram or social media? Like what? How did that help you in your journey?
Carla Jungbluth 6:25
Since because if you, you post something, is there, so people are expecting you to do it? And I there were many people they were struggling even more than than myself. So I didn’t want to disappoint them. You know, it’s like my kids were also seen that they were following me they were like, Oh, my mind is doing that is doing well. So chew. They were really excited about it. I was like a little rock star. I feel still like a rockstar.
Richard Conner 6:58
like you are definitely
Carla Jungbluth 7:00
Yeah, thank you. And yeah, it was look like I was at the beginning, just posting my, my, my food, what I was eating. And like, I wanted to be healthy. Like I didn’t want to do to do just fast food. I was cooking. I cannot cook that well. But I tried. I did my best. And yeah, and then started coming more and more followers and people who were telling me how inspiring I am. And most of it because why I was doing it. I was doing it because of my kids. And because I wanted to see them grow. And and yeah, it was it was reading the comments and getting those messages. Like every stone I I achieve. It was amazing. It’s still amazing to get those messages that I think oh my god, I’m inspiring people and motivating people. And to get a better life. Because I know what it is to be there. Like almost weighing 100 kilos is. It’s not easy. It’s not easy. Yeah.
Richard Conner 8:14
And that’s interesting. And I love what you touched upon, you know, kind of break it down a little bit. So the first thing is, is about your why, right? When you when you had the when you spoke to your doctors, you decided that you were going to make a change for your kids. And that was your why that’s why you’re gonna make that change and your grandkids and in the future. And that I think that’s great. And, and then the accountability piece. So you kind of use it sounds like you use social media for the accountability, right? If if people are watching, and that’s gonna make you want to keep or maintain your new habits, right, your healthy habits. That’s, that’s awesome. And we talk about that on Inspire Virtual Runs all the time, about really knowing your y as well as having that accountability partner or group or way and for you, it’s your Instagram.
Carla Jungbluth 9:01
Yeah, this is so important to have it focus, you know why you are doing it and to get things done. That’s, I think in every in every part in your life. In at work, or, you know, when you know, where you are doing things, where do you want to go? Where do you want to get things get. It’s not easy, but you get through it. Richard Conner 9:27
Yeah, yeah, definitely. And, you know, we’ll talk a little bit about like how you did it. So you mentioned in the beginning, you started to count calories. And you saw just to see where you’re at and you’re you know, you’re what you’re taking in was much more than what you’re burning and it’s it’s something that I think is a controversial topic about should you count calories, should you not count calories? You can lose weight without counting. Like I think there’s a lot of different viewpoints. And you know, for me personally, I’m a lot like you in that regard where I want to see how I’m doing right I want to see what the numbers look like. Because then from there, you can make the right changes or make the right choices, you can see where you need to adjust. So so I like that. But so did you continue counting calories over time? Or did you kind of change the way you’re approaching it over time?
Carla Jungbluth 10:18
No, I right now, I am not counting calories anymore. Like I stopped after two years after doing it two years. Okay. And yeah, I I just, I was not really counting them to see where to stop eating. Now, I was like, I didn’t want you to know, really, really well. Just because you didn’t know this, but I didn’t. I didn’t eat any vegetables before. I used to eat just cucumbers and tomatoes. That’s it. That’s there was no more greens or veggies in my diet before. So I counting calories, I realized that vegetables are like, they don’t have much calories, but a lot of nutritions then that’s I say, oh my god, what am I missing here? And I started to try new recipes. And, and of course, I love pizzas. I love them. But I wasn’t in the big ones. Just the half of it. And with salad and you know, you get you get like, adventurous with food. Trying. And like I told you I didn’t have any restrictions. I was not saying no, I cannot eat this. I am on a diet. I say I was also Yes. Like, are you sure you heard the diet? No, I’m not. But but you’re losing weight who would either say No, I still I will eat that or a piece of cake. Yes, of course. I was never saying no, Richard never ever today. They tell me do you want? Yes. Yes. It’s just the quantity of I eat everything, actually. I mean,
Richard Conner 12:09
that’s great. That’s great. And I think and I think for you know, for those who are listening, if they you know, if diet has been a struggle, or the mentality might be, well, if I go on a diet, or if I try to lose weight, that means that I’m going to be deprived, right, I’m going to be deprived of the food that I like, I’m going to be deprived of what I want to want to eat when I want to eat. And it sounds like in your case, you found a nice balance of being able to eat what you want to eat. But just trolling the the quantity, as you said, the amount of food that you’re eating, and also adding in more nutritious foods. And yeah, it
Carla Jungbluth 12:47
was it was a balance and right now, eating intuitive. Like it’s just it works. It works for me at the moment I don’t count calories was just I know now, like, in my mind is I remember okay, if I ate a big a big I don’t know, a hamburger with french fries. And everyday it’s a lot. I know that I mean, but before I I didn’t, I didn’t I know it was a bad food. But I didn’t know that it was that bad. I mean, because like I could have been eating like three times a day hamburgers with french fries, and then pizza and cake. And yeah, why not some some chips? Was was very bad. But yeah, I found the balance and doing this. I know it’s long term was is what I wanted to do. It was not short, short term. And yeah, I’m trying to give that to my kids, which is not easy. Because it’s it’s most of the time is healthy food. When you change your lifestyle, it just is a part of you. It’s like, I don’t know how when it happened, but it happened and I’m very happy of it.
Richard Conner 14:12
Right. And you’ve been very successful at it. And you know, you’ve been very successful in the in the nutrition side. And I know at some point you decided to bring in exercise. Yeah. And running was a big part of that. So So tell us about that. Like how did running come into the picture then?
Carla Jungbluth 14:27
Yeah, well, counting calories was like, okay 1000 steps, are they no way I need to move. So I started moving and when you wait so much is painful. It’s just painful. So it was spending a lot of time to go just for a walk. And I thought no, it has to be a way to to do it faster to get my steps faster. So I started running. So I
Richard Conner 14:59
Just like that
Carla Jungbluth 14:59
Just like that, just like that was just let’s try it. So I waited until it was dark until there was no people around with my my clothes on and then went for a run, I start to run in 15 seconds. 15 seconds, which were, oh my gosh, it was just so painful. My head was, oh, it was, was bad. It was bad. But then I was having one minute break. And that was alone three kilometers. It was like a journey. It was a journey every time but I kept going. And I and I could see the changes. I could see that I could go further like not just 15 seconds, but one minute running. I was like, kind of run one minute. It’s not. It’s not like for most of the people walking is like, you do it. In a bed running is not that simple. Not when you have this kind of weight over you because when you run you have to move social on your bodies. Like it’s it’s it’s painful. It was very painful. I don’t know how he went through it. But yeah, he got it got better. With the time I guess it took me around three months, I could run three kilometers are the ones which was a big, a big success for me. But I also lost weight, running and eating better. So it goes. It was easier with the time. So and I started enjoying it enjoying and going for a run but not late at night. So admit in at noon, where people were around, and they were Yeah, you can do this. Like oh my god, do I look that terrible? Die?
Richard Conner 16:56
Oh, no.
Carla Jungbluth 16:57
Yeah, I thought. But there were They were always thumbs up for me when I was running. Yeah.
Richard Conner 17:04
That’s nice. That’s really nice to hear and do. Like, how did you start that? Like, how did you think to do the 15 minute I’m sorry, a 15 second run? And then one minute walk? Was that a program that you were following? Or that was just your way of just saying let’s just see how far I could run?
Carla Jungbluth 17:22
No, there was an application. And they pick out can say it here. But there was a there was an epically an application as some is run. And it takes you to get your your first 5k it starts slowly with running, working, running, working and you do improve with the time and you listen to do an episode. So it was fun. All of a sudden there were some bees running behind. I went you run at night. You run
Richard Conner 17:57
So what happened next you got to the to the 3k within the three months, which is great achievement, and everybody’s cheering for you. So then where did you take it from there?
Carla Jungbluth 18:06
Yeah, well, in in that time, I got more followers. I got more people, I made more runners, they were like, impressed to see that I was running. Because at the time I was not look like I am today. But my gosh, they were they were motivating me all the time, all the time. And I started to train for my first 5k And yeah, it was it was very interesting. It was like I still first time running. You mean among people. It like for me was like, unbelievable. I cuz I thought I was never going to be able to do that. I thought that was one of the always running at night where no one was looking at me was like, yeah, and then I made my my mother is not my best friend. But it’s a very, very, very, very good friend. It’s she trained me. She told me, girl, you can run more than 5k and you can run more than three times a week. I was like, I don’t know. I’m not so sure about it. She said of course you can. Of course you can. And she told me she was gonna train me for my 10k race. I see okay, let’s give it a go. i Yeah, we started training and then we met because I was all over the internet. And then she got through the same way like she lost a lot of weight and start to run in. So she knew what I was going through. I was a big help. And when you have something so someone so close to you and detail you Go go You can do it because sometimes I didn’t want it to I was oh, it’s raining. Who cares? Just go. I was like, oh, it’s snowing. She was go. I was like, Okay, I’m gonna go. And she kept pushing and yeah. So she trained me for my first 8k For my for my first marathon half marathon.
Richard Conner 20:25
So you went from 10k to half marathon half marathon? Yes.
Carla Jungbluth 20:29
Wow. Yes. So it was like, she told me you are gonna have in one month. We can run a half marathon. I was like, I don’t think I got it on course, it’s gonna be your birthday is your birthday. So that’s gonna be your birthday present. I was like, Okay, so let’s do this
Richard Conner 20:50
Great motivation.
Carla Jungbluth 20:52
Yeah. And we did it.
She came. Se lives in Luxembourg. And she came around with me. Another good friend of us came also. And they were they were pushing hard. Like, I was running local races are for me very, very difficult. Because most of the time they are professional runners. Like they run really, really quick. So they were coming back. And I was first on my way. My first thing came, they were almost done. I was like, yeah, that’s why I like to run bigger places, bigger races. I did it. I did. It took me a little bit longer than expected. But
Richard Conner 21:37
No, that’s great. I mean, just even between your the 10k and the half marathon time. Just in one month. I think that’s amazing. I mean, I could share with you that I’ve been running for a very long time. But I never ran very long distances. So I never really ran anything more than a 10k. And last year, I ran a 10k for the first time like as a race. Yeah. I think it was like three months later, two or three months later, I ran my first half marathon in my life. So I trained for almost three months for a half marathon and you did it in a month. You should be proud of that.
Carla Jungbluth 22:14
Yeah, I actually I do it not for the for the pace, because many, many races are for that to prove yourself. But I do it for the fun. You know, it just just looking right into the left and see all those runners they’re doing the same and smiling and having fun that’s just an amazing feeling. That’s just an amazing feeling. But I have to say I always look if I’m the last accountable.
Richard Conner 22:44
Feel better about that.
Carla Jungbluth 22:46
Even if I’m the last one, it doesn’t matter. Doesn’t matter. I’m there. I’m there. And that’s a big a big achievement for me.
Richard Conner 22:54
And it didn’t stop there for you. So you did the 5k the 10k the half marathon and I know you just kept going so what was like the next milestone for you?
Carla Jungbluth 23:03
It was my first marathon. Okay, it was after after my half marathon two months later, I I run my first marathon. That’s amazing. You can imagine us without training. Yeah, my friend told me you are running hambourg marathon. I was like, under training or we were doing any training. You didn’t need a twin you already. Like, okay, we run 32 kilometers before that. And he told me yes, you can do this. If you can run 32 kilometers, you can run for it too.
Richard Conner 23:46
Right? And how did it go for you? And you did it.
Carla Jungbluth 23:48
I did it. I did it. I got lucky. I am petrified of runners group. It’s like, we are 12. And when when it’s possible, we try to meet in races and run together. So I got a lot to do. They were there. And one of them. Join me at kilometer 30 and he went with me until the end. And he was a big a big help because he told me when he arrived at some point everything is hurting, here and here. No, no, no, no, no, I don’t want to hear anything about and you just keep going. We’re going to talk about nice things. And yeah, we went through it. It was and at the end they were waiting for me all of them there the last 500 meters was like wow, it’s just like, give me the last push that I need. Yeah, it was it was amazing. It was really an amazing experience.
Richard Conner 24:49
Awesome. That’s awesome. And and I know again, it doesn’t stop there. Because you just you just keep going right you just keep keep pushing yourself So, so what was next after that?
Carla Jungbluth 25:02
The next was in Berlin Berlin marathon that I could run Berlin marathon every year if possible since, no, just incredible. It’s just incredible. So many people sharing the same passion. She’s all ages, you know, just in Utah go along the way with people and you tell stories, even if you don’t know them. This is crazy. How people are open, and they share their their stories along the way. I know where my limits are concise. I try to enjoy it without getting injured. Yeah, yeah. So so if you have the opportunity to recharge, you should come to Berlin. I run a marathon.
Richard Conner 25:51
Okay. Yeah. Well, I made two trips to Germany. So I’ll have to add it back to my list then. But, you know, I haven’t run a marathon, which I haven’t committed to yet. So that’s something that that I got to think about. Yeah.
Carla Jungbluth 26:05
It’s about time. What at least once. It’s amazing. It’s just, I mean, a marathon? Well, for me, like, the biggest I thought, I thought it was, I thought it was the the biggest achievement until I realized I wanted to run farther.
Richard Conner 26:26
Yeah, that’s right. So so tell us a little bit about that.
Carla Jungbluth 26:30
Yeah. So after running a marathon, I searched research a little bit more what, what’s, what’s next? And then I thought, okay, that’s 50k. I mean, minus 50k. Says, eight kilometers more than a marathon. Hi, can do this. I mean, it’s just like, a little bit more than just were eight kilometers. And yeah, so I sign up for my first ultra marathon. Wow. Yeah, it was 55 kilometres. Yeah, I was it was a nice experience, but I was not know ready for it. I wasn’t already.
Richard Conner 27:14
Because a different kind of race. Once you get to that disc.
Carla Jungbluth 27:17
Yeah, it’s very different. And it was, before that I did three months cytomel challenge that’s running everyday 10 kilometers and doing 100 Situps 100 Push ups and 100 squats for three months. And four weeks later running the ultra marathon. It was just too much. It was still like I thought it was that was my training, right? I had a bad time I was sick of my I had stomachache, and I didn’t have enough energy. But when I leave is the place where the races are gone are along the river. So you don’t have any more options. Either go back 30 kilometers, or go for a swim. I’ll keep going. It was just I kept going. And yeah, it was tough. It was really tough. It was really tough because it was during the night and even if when my friend was with me, I told her you know what? I’m not feeling well, you just go you just go Just leave me here. I will get to the finish line. At some point. I yeah, I did it. I did it.
Richard Conner 28:40
That’s amazing. That’s amazing. I mean, Carla, this is just an amazing story. amazing journey that you’ve had, you know, all the way from, you know, really focused on your diet and just eating healthy to running right to to improve your fitness all the way to ultra marathon and in a relatively short amount of time. Yeah, that’s that’s truly incredible. So, you know, I’m thinking like, as we kind of wind down here, I’d love to, you know, know, like, what’s next for you. You know, you’ve done the ultra marathon like what are you thinking for the future? Yeah, well,
Carla Jungbluth 29:11
my next race is going to be 100 kilometers. Okay, that’s, that’s my goal. I I did during this pandemic, I was training for my 70 kilometers ultramarathon that didn’t take place because of the situation. So I did it by myself. I did when I when I say these a thing. Oh my God, you are really crazy. Yeah, I ran 70 kilometres solo ultra marathon and wow, they’re along the way. I thought I need to run 100 kilomenters. I need to know how it is gonna be to run 100 kilometers. So I am gonna start after June 17. My, my, my training for that,
Richard Conner 30:09
So you’re gonna train for this one though.
Carla Jungbluth 30:11
I’m gonna try. I’m gonna do. Yeah, yeah. And I hope it goes well. Yeah, so it’s gonna be 100 kilometers, 100 miles, and then 24 hours ultramarathons, those are my goals. If I can get those, I will be happy and thankful.
Richard Conner 30:31
We’ll be watching. So I hope I hope that helps. You made that commitment we’ll be we’ll be watching you on on your social media. So this, this is great. And thank you again for sharing your story. I’m thinking, you know, for the listeners who are listening to your story. And they may be in different points in their journey, right? They may be just starting, they may be thinking about starting, they don’t know how to start, like, for someone who may be in your situation back then what would you say to inspire them to start take their health and fitness seriously and start kind of going down this path?
Carla Jungbluth 31:08
Yeah, it’s just like, I know, many people have heard this, but it’s never too late. It’s never too late to start. And start now, just in this moment. Because if you say I will start tomorrow, I will start on Monday, I will start in two weeks. It never comes to that day. So just just now, it doesn’t have to be like you have to run an ultra marathon. Just you know, just start slowly, but But stay on it. And be patient. Be patient. Because if you wanna do it long term, it has. It takes time. It’s not just a shortcut thing. But you get along the way. You love that. And could you just can’t stop. I know what I’m talking about. This is like, it gets like an unhealthy addiction. Like, I want to run and I just okay, I have a lot of more things than just running. But run in space. My favorite series. I love run is just Yeah,
Richard Conner 32:18
Very cool. Very cool. Carla, thank you so much. This has been awesome. How can the Inspire virtual runs community like find you and follow you online?
Carla Jungbluth 32:28
Oh, we thank you very much Richard. Well, I am on Instagram at Run. Smile. Love. You can find me there. I I just my running journey. They’re there for you to follow. Thank you very much for inviting me. Recharge was a pleasure.
Richard Conner 32:46
All right, perfect. Yeah, thank you so much for coming on the show. And I’ll put this in the show notes. So it’ll make it easier for the listeners to find you. And with that, you know, thanks again and have a great day.
Carla Jungbluth 32:58
Yeah, thank you so much, wish you the same.
Richard Conner 33:04
What an inspiring conversation with Carla. Here my three takeaways from the conversation. The first one is about nutrition. There are many different ways to approach nutrition. You can count calories, not count calories, find what works for you, and stick with it. Second, is you can run even if you may not believe you could run as long as your doctor hasn’t told you not to run. Carla started in a place that it was very difficult. And she worked her way up from not running at all, all the way to becoming an ultra runner. And the third takeaway is be the motivation for others. Carla talked about how her community was cheering for her and giving her the motivation but in turn, she was motivating them with all that she had accomplished. So really hope you enjoyed this episode. Please subscribe so you get notified about new episodes. And with that, thanks for listening, and have a great day.
Intro/Outro 34:08
That’s it for this episode of Inspire Virtual Runs Podcast. If you enjoyed this podcast, please leave a review. Also, be sure to click the subscribe button so you don’t miss an episode. Thanks for listening.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai