I’m a glutton for punishment so I regularly visit the magazine stand when I do my weekly round of food shopping. I usually buy one of those slimming, or dieting magazines since I’m forever on the lookout for any information on these subjects. I find the true-life stories of some of these people to be positively inspiring and hope that someday I can do the same. It was on one of my numerous forays into these magazines that I found a nutrition article that gave me a lot of insight into my eating habits.

As I sat in my car reading the article, I discovered what kind of eater I was – the boredom eater, I ate when I was bored or tired – and I found a few great ways in which I could attempt to control my bad eating habits. Since I ate when I was bored it was recommended that I keep a few nutritious snacks around the house to quell my boredom hunger. This was easy to do since I love my fruits and all I did was stock up more on fruits and kept them handy.

The next one was slightly more difficult since I also like my chocolate fixes, but the nutrition article was adamant about this, so I had to throw out all my chocolate. And I was banned from stocking up on any more. If and when I had a chocolate craving the nutrition article said that it would be more of a deterrent if I had to go out and buy it. The same applied to ice cream but I had been trying to cut back on that anyway.

Next, the article went on to tell me about the various foods that I should include in my everyday diet, and which ones I should stay away from. It explained the food guide pyramid in great detail and gave me a great insight into how I could manage my meals. I also found that I was eating most of the “right” foods but that I was eating them in the wrong quantities, more of meats and fats over cereals, grains and fruits.

I’ve got to tell you, this is the first time I was really glad that I stopped by the magazine rack. The nutrition article that I came across that day has helped me put my life back on track. I now eat healthier snacks of fruit, and sometimes carrots. I also indulge myself in the finer things in life by eating all the good-for-me food that I want. Give it a try.