Hating exercise - a lifelong struggle?

Do what you enjoy, as long as you're moving that's all that counts. Dancing, water aerobics and white water rafting are your exercises, go for it.

If you like dancing, water aerobics and white water rafting, you don't hate exercise!

I think school, slimming clubs and gyms do a number on a lot of people, making them think there is only a narrow range of things that qualify as physical activity and excercise.

Whilst it's probably not practical to go rafting a few times a week, there's nothing stopping you form dancing alone or joining a group (if you have these nearby) , attending a water aerobics class regularly or trying to find a day off every so often to go rafting with a local adventure sports centre or something.

It's tedious and difficult getting worked up and sweaty over an activity you detest and are counting down the minutes to end. It is possible to find a physical activity difficult and enjoy it at the same time, but for some people (me included) that ain't on a football pitch or on a treadmill and you shouldn't beat yourself up for it.

Do what you love.

I love to sit on the sofa, reading, while mowing down on popcorn.

Sadly, this doesn't count, and is in fact now forbidden to me. (The popcorn, not the reading).

You don't hate exercise, you just haven't found what you love yet.
I was once a football player and thought there was something wrong with me because I hated it. (I'm a guy, I'm supposed to like football.) Well, after having my neck nearly broke and being knocked unconscious, I switched to wrestling and loved it. I went to practice every day looking forward to it. Worked harder than ever because I loved it. I wasn't the best you'd ever see, but I was good because for me it wasn't exercise, it was passion.
Then high school ended and I went to a college without a wrestling team. I had no motivation to to do anything besides go for hikes on the weekend.
One day I lost my job and to keep me from being cooped up all day, I took up running. The longer I ran the longer I was out of the house and not relentlessly checking my email with the insane hope someone emailed me a job offer in the last 30 seconds.
I soon discovered I loved running. I got to see parts of my town I had never really seen before. I was losing weight and I was able to eat more.
These days running has become my passion, not my workout. It is a time for me to be by myself and sort out my thoughts or sometimes, once I get into high mileage, to just focus on putting one foot in front of the other.
So, long story short (too late!) find your passion not your exercise. Find your reason to move, not your reason to make excuses. There are a million great exercises out there, like fencing, weight lifting, kickball, competitive hopscotch, whatever.

It's mind over matter. It's all about fixing your mind around exercise, and coming to love the benefits more than you hate the process.

I think school, slimming clubs and gyms do a number on a lot of people, making them think there is only a narrow range of things that qualify as physical activity and excercise.

Not only that, but a lot of the PE programs I was in felt very competitive. It wasn't about getting better physically. It was about playing sports. While that's not necessarily a bad thing, if you happen to not be very interested, talented, or practiced in the sports they have you partake in in the class, you begin to associate exercise and activity with losing, feeling embarassed, or being the last one picked for a team.

I was generally neutral about gym class, myself. I liked playing games and did okay, but there was nothing about PE that motivated me to do anything on my own. It was when I started lifting recreationally with my dorm-mates in college and it became a matter of simply doing better today than you did last week that it became enjoyable. Over time, I found some activities I didn't really care for (running) and others that I did (rowing / lifting / martial arts). But none of that was aided by any classes or school programs. (In fact, the irony is that my college, where I began to be interested in exercise on a personal basis, had no PE requirement as part of the agreement with the man who donated the money to build the new student gym.)

Instead of thinking exercise, think activity. You listed several activities that you enjoy and that burn calories. Even just going for a walk outside counts. Anything you enjoy and will stick with is better than something you hate. I love lifting, dancing and Pilates, but I'd rather gouge out my own eyes than play a team sport. Just find an activity you like to do, whether or not it's "exercise." (Just so you know, if you can't or don't want to find something, you can still lose weight without doing anything other than monitoring your caloric intake).

I'm in the same boat.recently got a fitbit and have been walking ever since! Consider getting one