Conversations with Cara Clark

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cara Clark.

Thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’ve been focused on teaching nutrition through a lifestyle program for almost 15 years now. When I was about 22 years old, I found myself in an identity crisis. I had just finished my college basketball career and never really knew how to take care of my body outside of performance sports. All I ever knew was to train hard to be the best athlete I could be. Then it ended, and I had to learn, study and discover what performance means in daily life as an adult. I became obsessed with exercise and diet to the point that I wasn’t serving my body, mind, or spirit but just focused on outcome and output. It leads to a disordered eating pattern. I knew this had to stop quickly before it got worse between my strong faith and intuitive nature. I enrolled in nutrition classes, got my certification, and began my career, teaching exactly what I needed to learn.

Even 15 years ago, the dieting culture was out of hand. People generally only sought out help for a nutritionist if they needed to lose weight, not because they wanted to feel better. Dieting made people feel like failures, stole energy, confidence, etc. I knew I wouldn’t reach adults with my message, so I targeted. Sororities and I taught them the beauty of food in its nature, how food worked for us, provided fuel, and how much of it we needed. I taught them that food and exercise are meant to make us feel like the best version of ourselves, and my goal was to help them prevent what leads to eating disorders. As I started to shift the culture from dieting to energy and fuel, I began growing my message, which caused me to grow my business. It spread like wildfire, and people were fed up with the lies about food. I took individual clients until I had my 3rd child in 2013, which was when I created my group challenge programs that have now reached over 50k households worldwide and many in the greater Nashville area.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It was smooth because it was all meant to be, and I wasn’t forcing anything. I just allowed it to take on its own life. My struggles were trying to balance family and work because I always saw myself as a stay-at-home mom. And since I wasn’t willing to give that up, I grew a family and business all simultaneously. In the five years I had my four daughters, my business exploded. As a do it myself nature, that became impossible. I had to hire help, which I’ve done for the last nine years. Not so much to help with my family but to help with the business. The greatest struggles were trying to manage success, so I can’t complain and have learned a ton on the way.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I’ll start with what I’m most proud of. I am most proud of helping people live lives more fully. My goal is to help people unlock more of their potential by feeling good and having better energy. I also want to help people understand they weren’t meant to suffer, so there is no greater feeling in the world when someone tells me they could go off meds or don’t have chronic symptoms or their blood work came back perfect from trying my program. I’m known for creating lifestyle programs that help people learn to eat correctly. I have a philosophy that evolved from my health issues, and it’s all directed at eating for stable blood sugar. This prevents many diseases, as well as reduces symptoms of the disease. We empower people to be in charge of their bodies and make decisions that suit them. I’m a clinical and sports nutritionist. I dreamed of working primarily with just athletes, but God had different plans for me. While I still work with athletes, my main clients are your everyday, hard-working, best life desiring people. My business motto is real food, real people, and accurate results. I came up with that after getting tagged along with several celebrities. All my clients work hard and value their health, whether they’re celebs or just your everyday person.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Not really. CCN has been fully self-funded since day one. As we’ve grown, we have incorporated marketing, PR, and ads, but we never did before we could pay for it ourselves.

Pricing:

• Membership- $499
• Health Coaching Pod- $300/month
• Group Challenges- $69

Contact Info:

• Website: www.caraclarknutrition.com
• Instagram: caraclarknutrition
• Facebook: cara clark nutrition
• Youtube: https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCTKI_aZv4WZf—fNtpX-CA

Image Credits
Angelica Marie Photo