Claire T. Fit: CHS grad helping busy women prioritize health

“Being able to walk everywhere and the active lifestyle that Coronado has, shaped who I am today and how I run my business. The sustainable changes that you can make in your life without spending hours in the gym. That’s the Coronado I grew up with,” says Claire Lamb (Ballard), founder of Claire T. Fit. Since graduating from Coronado High School in 2017, Claire earned her master’s degree in architectural engineering before starting Claire T. Fit, a nutrition and coaching program in 2024. 

Coronado foundation

Claire was on the CHS cheer and competition team all four years, concluding her high school cheer career as co-captain of the varsity team. “Sports taught me a work ethic. When you think, ‘I don’t really feel like going to practice today, but I’m still going to go.’ Now, it’s ‘I don’t feel like going to the gym today, but I’m still going to go.’”

From her days as co-captain, Claire had an early taste of leadership. “Being a leader taught me what to expect from people and what kind of changes are expected. You can’t expect someone to do a complete 180 overnight. You have to expect gradual changes, which is what I learned as a captain and through fitness coaching. Small changes over time will add up to a bigger change in the end.”

CHS Competition Cheerleaders Heading to Cheerleading National Championship (video) – 2017

From corporate America to nutrition coaching

Claire’s focus with her nutrition coaching is on busy women. She shares how she first found her niche. “I would be at work as an engineer and found that I wanted to talk to people about the food that I had meal-prepped for that day, and what workout I was going to do. People started asking me for tips on what to eat, which really sparked my interest. I had the thought of maybe pursuing that as a career, and it spiraled from there.”

After five years of schooling and two degrees, the idea to completely change her life was a calculated risk. “Honestly, it was terrifying. You lose all the stability, which, from a financial standpoint, is hard, scary, and really stressful. Especially at the beginning, and not knowing where the income is coming from. Luckily, my husband was super supportive.” In the end, what pushed her to make the leap was the idea that, “If I’m going to take a risk, I might as well take it early on in my life.”

Claire explains what it’s like going from a 9-5 desk job to the entrepreneurial life. “It was nice having a lot more freedom in my hours. I probably still work the same amount of hours, if not more. But if I need to switch laundry in the middle of the day, I can. If I need to go to an appointment in the middle of the day, I can. I’ll set my own hours. Will I still be working on Christmas? Maybe. But I have a lot more flexibility and freedom.”

Why busy women have different needs

Claire knows first hand what the different needs of working women are. “When I was working as an engineer full-time, I was still trying to have hobbies outside of work, still trying to have a relationship with my husband outside of work, still seeing friends outside of work. There’s not a lot of time in our lives at this point. I see a lot of women going from one strategy to another, to another, to another. They all take time to get started and to figure it out, and they already have busy lives. I help women simplify. [Your nutrition] doesn’t have to take a ton of time to work.”

Lazy nutrition

At the time of the article, Claire T. Fit has posted 25 days of “Lazy Nutrition That Works” on her Instagram. “I love that series. My husband sparked that one. I hate cooking, but you have to to save money and to make healthy meals. I have found the easiest recipes that you can make without spending a ton of time in the kitchen or being a very good cook. They still taste good, they’re super balanced.”

Benefits of online training

The most obvious benefit of online training is that you can do it anywhere. Claire shares that she helps people all over the world and offers more access than other coaches can. “Being able to reach more clients who want my coaching style is a great opportunity. It also helps the client more, because they can reach out whenever. In regular personal training, you see your personal trainer for an hour, once, twice, maybe three times a week. You can text me anytime. You don’t have to wait and save all your questions until you see me next Wednesday at 2 pm. My clients text me all day, every day. ‘I’m going out to dinner, and this is the menu. I have no idea what I should do. What should I get?’ Or ‘I’m really craving this food. How can you help me get through this craving?’”

Your cravings don’t hit at 2 pm when you’re going to work out with your personal trainer. The cravings hit at 6 pm when you just got home from work, and you don’t want to make dinner.

Claire T. Fit coaching style

Claire describes her coaching style as simple. “There are so many different strategies out there and magic drinks that promise to fix everything, or that you need to have exactly this much protein if you weigh this much. I keep things very simple. We focus on protein, veggies, carbs, and fats. Carbs are not the enemy. We’re not looking for everything to be non-fat. It’s really a simple, sustainable balance, so you’re not tracking your food for the rest of your life. You’re able to sustain those changes that we made together. Don’t fall for the super complex, fancy thing. Do the simple, boring things consistently.”

Prioritizing what works for each client

Claire’s end goal is for her clients to find success, and she explains that it looks different for everyone. “If a person has a gym that they like to go to and are just struggling with losing weight, then I always support continuing their in-person gym routine. I then support with nutrition and accountability to make sure that they’re going to the gym.”

What makes someone a good fit for Claire’s program is their willingness to put in the work and make a lasting change. “They have to be ready to give up on the quick fixes that people promise. They have to be willing to take the slow and steady route that will last them for the rest of their life.”

A Claire T. Fit success story

Claire shares a recent success story. “I have one client who was working out at Orange Theory Fitness, and then trained at F45. She tried all of these different group fitness classes, which are great, and we started working together solely for nutrition. She lost over 25 pounds in 16 weeks together, and is down to 17% body fat, and is super happy with where she’s at. There hasn’t been any muscle lost in our entire time together, and she was very dedicated to making these changes. She still had pizza on occasion, and every single week she’d go to trivia and have a drink with her friends. She’d still eat out, honestly, she ate out four to five times a week, and made really intentional choices, and put in the work.”

One-on-one coaching

Claire offers both one-on-one coaching and group coaching. “For the one-on-one coaching, you fill out an application and explain how things are going, if you’ve been trying anything, how it’s working, and from that application, we see if we’d be a good fit to work together. Then we’ll hop on a call to chat more specifically about what goals you’re going for and what you’re trying to get out of nutrition, or nutrition and exercise coaching. We’ll also talk through whether I think I should do the exercise coaching for you or if you should find another gym.”

After that call, if it’s a good fit, then you’ll proceed with a start date. “I onboard new clients every two to three weeks. From there, I’ll get you set up with all of our shared documents and spreadsheets. There’s also a ton of training in my one-on-one program that is educational about nutrition and exercise – why we’re doing the things that we’re doing. The why behind it is so important. I don’t want you just following me blindly. I want you to understand why we’re doing these things. 

Group coaching

The group coaching also has a full onboarding call, but it’s quicker. “When you decide to join the community, you’ll be added to the next start date. You’ll receive an email that has all the links with the dates and times for the next group calls. You’ll get access to the Slack Group Chat, where you can ask any questions that you have, and you’ll be able to access all the shared trainings and recipes on that as well.”

Nutrition myths

Claire laughs as she debunks some of the popular nutrition myths. “A big one I’ve heard is all sorts of different numbers for how much protein you need based on your weight, but the amount of food that you’re eating is going to be different for every person. It’s based on your activity level, your age, and your time of the month as a woman. Aiming for one amount of protein every single day for everyone… it doesn’t add up. You want to be educated in nutrition and have a way to make balanced meals and a balanced diet. The amount that you’re eating should be based on how hungry or full you’re feeling that day, which changes day to day.”

As for weight loss myths, Claire shares, “You need to be doing a bunch of cardio, or you need to be only doing strength training. You really should be doing a combination of all those things. Strength training will help you build muscle, which then increases your metabolism and causes you to burn more calories just living and breathing. That helps with weight loss. Cardio is great for your longevity, heart health, and calorie burn. So you really want a mix of both.”

Rapid fire questions

Three daily habits Claire swears by are: “Daily movement, even if it’s not a workout at the gym, move your body every single day. Eat vegetables every single day; and be nice to yourself. You’re not going to be perfect every day. You can slip up. It’s okay.”

Go-to energizing snack: My favorite is a smoothie with frozen fruit. Right now I’ve been liking mango and strawberry with spinach, milk, and plain Greek yogurt.

Movements when she’s on a time crunch: I walk. I’ll park farther from the store I’m going into, or, if I’m going to an appointment, I’ll take the stairs instead of the elevator. When something’s cooking on the stove, I will do laps around the house.

Favorite place in Coronado: The beach. I love being in the sand. 

Mantra she loves by: Little by little.

Connect with Claire T. Fit

Claire T. Fit is currently running a Buy One month, Get One free for January in her group program. Schedule a call here.

Learn more on her website.

Follow Claire T. Fit on Instagram.

Alyssa Burns is the sister of Claire Lamb.