Amazing the timing of my health insurance company. Today I received a brochure from them on getting to an optimum weight and maintaining it. The core of their message was this: Getting to and maintaining an optimum weight is ONLY done by adopting a healthy lifestyle including proper nutrition and adequate exercise. No diet, no matter how hyped will do the job. No exercise program, no matter how well advertised and endorsed will do the job. Only a healthy lifestyle will bring a healthy body.

They went on to write about what a healthy lifestyle is. One of the key phrases was that no one can do it for you. Another was to regard mild exercise as just that, mild, and so minimally effective over the long term. For long term, life long effect exercise must be aggresive and part of a person's daily life. They also compared exercise to the air we breath; saying it is just as important.

This is a real shift for this company. Not too long ago they didn't pay for preventive treatment or exams saying they were not cost effective. In other words it was cheaper to let someone get sick and die than to pay to keep them well. I'm glad they changed.