I love lifting weights, and have for years. But....

I hate cardio. HATE it. I hate running. I hate the elliptical trainer. I hate walking, and I really hate the exercise bike. I hate the rower so much that I will not even get on it. I love to swim, but I hate swimming laps for exercise.

However, I like the effects. I like being able to run for the bus or subway. I like being able to keep up with a fast-moving crowd, even if I'm carrying something heavy. I like not having to ask Gez, whose legs are a good three inches longer than mine, to slow down her pace. I also like knowing that I will probably not end up like my mom or dad, who proved the truth of the old saying, "use it or lose it."

Of course, the main point of exercise for me is the way it strips the fat. I am one of those unfortunates who has to do cardio, in addition to lifting and dieting, in order to get the weight off. Or perhaps it's not that I'm unfortunate, but that I'm simply unwilling to eat as little as I would have to eat in order to get the fat off without significant quantities of cardio work. All I ever wanted was to do as little cardio exercise as possible in order to get weight off. However, "as little as possible" has turned out to be a rather huge quantity which takes a good chunk out of my life. Thankfully, when the weight is off I can cut back to a more mild cardio schedule, doing it for fitness' sake rather than to lose fat. And at that point, I think I'll probably start liking it. I imagine it'll feel like I'm making forward progress and improving, rather than "paying back" a debt of overeating and overdrinking from the past.

Emily