[PlayingForKeeps]

Hi everyone,

A little background. About 4 years ago, I lost a little over 40 lbs (I used to be LittleMoonRabbit on here... you can find my story in the archives somewhere). I did it through exercise (both cardio and resistance training... though mostly cardio) and eating healthier while counting calories. Pretty standard stuff. I have been overweight my entire life, so I took the next three years to work on maintaining and get a feel for what it is like to live at such a drastically different weight. I would yoyo a little bit, bouncing around between 120 and 130 lbs. I think I needed that time, to get used to my new lifestyle and adjust to my new body.

But now I am ready to take it to the next level. I don't just want to be "thinner" and "healthier" anymore... I want to have the body of an athlete. I am always up for a new challenge and this time, I want to work on my muscle tone and fitness. I want to achieve that washboard stomach, those toned thighs and a nice tight little tush.

But, for some reason, I am having a difficult time sorting through all the data this time around. Just losing weight went fairly well for me... I counted calories and I exercised about an hour a day. There wasn't a need for anything else really. And while that has again been very successful in helping me trim down on some of my body fat to start (I have lost about 8 lbs in the last 2 months, bringing me to 120.8 this morning) everything I am reading about building the body I want suggests that I need to change what I am doing.

Here's the truth: I hate resistance training. I could do cardio for HOURS and be a happy happy girl. But lifting bores me to tears. I only do it because I know it's an important part of a balanced exercise routine, and in general, do get my lifting through something like 30DS, using a higher weight like 10lbs.

So here are my questions:
- How does a cardio-loving fool like myself "get into" resistance training and learn to really enjoy it? Are there programs that you personally enjoy that help to make your weight-training workouts more fun? Tell me about your routines (personal trainer, p90x, new rules of weightlifting for women, etc.)

- How much do I need to cut down on my steady-state cardio? I do 30-60 minutes a day on the elliptical with high resistance, with longer runs outside on the weekends (I run run 5-6 miles at a time)

- How much do I need to up my calories to build solid muscle? this answer seems to swing wildly in different directions depending on what I am reading. Currently, I aim to NET my calories at around 1200 (I eat around 1450 a day, mostly lean proteins, veggies, whole grains and healthy fats, with the occasional piece of dark chocolate thrown in). I track my calories on MyFitnessPal

Any personal advice you guys can offer me would be very beneficial. Also, are there any other forums or communities that you would suggest I join? I know we have a resistance training forum here, but it appears to be relatively quiet, and I really like the support and camaraderie found on forums like these.