For me, going to the gym this past year had had heaps of great spinoffs....I'm fitter, healthier, have more energy and stamina,lost weight and dropped some clothes sizes, more muscle tone, eat better, feel more comfortable in my body, more confident and basically am a much happier person...infact,and i know this is gonna sound as cheesey as fuk...but i feel the best i've ever felt. My friends have noticed it too. One told me that it's like I've blossomed and she loves seeing me with so much energy and spark. I don't have the desire to be an athlete but i do enjoy working out and the adrenalin buzz i get from it. It's the same with dancing. It's about doing it 4 yourself I reckon...if you do it for others, it desn't work..do it 4 yourself and it does. Rather thanh focusing on the "I hate my body" thought, focus on what u wanna achieve, eg be healthier or fitter, that way it's a positive goal. If u are happy how u are, great...ain't an issue then, but if u want to make some changes, go for it, but take it slowly. Weight loss in particular works better if you lose it slowly and steadily. Rapid weight loss doesn't work cos your body doesn't have time to adjust and it's reaction is to try and keep u the same weight u have been, cos that's what it's equilibrium is. By taking it slow, u move it's equilibrium slowly too ans so it doesn't resist by putting the weight back on.Fark, I'm sounding rather new agey and fitness crazed...lol