To stay in shape, physical training is vital, but eating healthy is equally important.

Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Community Services, Semper Fit division, has a monthly nutrition class to get service members educated about eating right.

Nutrition 101 is a one-hour class that is geared to individuals who want to lose weight, or just want to learn how to eat healthy.

“Many Marines have lots of misconceptions about nutrition,” said Lana Thompson, health promotion educator, Semper Fit division, MCCS. “The goal of the class is to get service members educated so that they can be equipped with the knowledge they need to make healthy decisions.”

The course is a comprehensive and interactive session that teaches everything from portion control to tips on understanding nutrition fact labels.

“I never realized that it’s better to eat more small meals than less big meals,” said Lance Cpl. Jonathan Koester, water sanitation technician, Combat Logistics Battalion 13, 1st Marine Logistic Group. “I now know that, not only what I eat, but how I eat, affects my weight.”

A good general rule when it comes to eating healthy is to eat like a king for breakfast, a prince for lunch and a pauper for dinner, said Thompson. 

Nutrition 101 is an all encompassing class for everyone; however, Thompson also offers individual appointments for persons interested in receiving nutritional insight specific to their needs.

“At first, I only offered individual nutrition sessions,” said Thompson. “But the demand for nutritional education on base became too great for one person, causing us to develop the monthly classes.”

Classes are held in the Health Promotion classroom at Paige Fieldhouse fitness center the first Wednesday of every month. For more information, call Lana Thompson at (760) 763-3793.

Individual nutrition appointments are also available at the 53 Area fitness center. For an appointment call, Sabrina Taylor-Gibson at (760) 763-0419.