If you’re like many of the uneducated eaters around you, you might have a skewed idea as to what is and isn’t good for your body and diet.

But, like most problems, there is a solution, especially if you’re a user of NIU’s Office of Campus Recreation.

The Rec offers free nutritional counseling to students, faculty and community members who have access to the facility.

“[Nutrition counseling is] becoming a lot more popular,” said Becky Lewis, fitness coordinator for recreation services. “We’ve seen a tremendous increase in requests, specifically from students, but not just students, to have a consultation.”

Lewis said more people tend to have an interest in their health and fitness during the spring semester because of a yearning to adhere to a New Year’s resolution.

“I think people’s biggest question is am I eating the right foods for my exercise habits,” Lewis said. “[For many, it’s] ‘I’m always on the go, what kind of food choices can I make to keep me fueled for the day.’”

Those interested in free nutritional counseling from the Wellness Center first are required to fill out a form, available at http://www.stuaff.niu.edu/ocr/nutrition.shtml, that outlines three days of a person’s typical eating habits.

After that, the form should be dropped off to counselors, who then will input the supplied data to compose a suggested nutritional plan.

Interested individuals are then called to speak with an intern, who will talk about current habits, what their goals are, what it is they’re trying to accomplish and how to get there.

Lewis said the counseling provides choices for those interested in residence hall eating, weight management, recipes and grocery shopping if they live in an apartment.

“We do a lot of follow up and that just means going back and answering questions … and tweaking someone’s plan,” Lewis said. “If it’s not working for them, they adjust it.”

Lewis said the center does not help with medical nutrition therapy, or those that may have an eating disorders or are diabetic. For those people, the center works with University Health Services, who has a nutritionist on staff to deal with those kinds of issues.

Lewis said after interested individuals fill out and drop off the form, it can take anywhere from 3 to 5 days before a nutrition counselor schedules a call back and appointment.

For more information about nutritional counseling, call 753-9421.