Which half of the equation is harder for you? Calories in or calories out?

I was thinking about this the other day while I was eating dinner with a friend, some people hate exercise - it's a ton of effort to get them off their butt and sweating. Personally, I exercise WAY more than I need to, every morning intensely for an hour at LEAST and 4 or 5 times a week an afternoon work out as well (usually lighter, like yoga or dance)

Why aren't I thin? Because I have trouble controlling my calorie intake - I LOVE food, especially sweets and I seem to get hungry all the time and have a hard time distinguishing mouth hunger from stomach hunger. If I'm eating something I'm enjoying even if I'm full I won't stop. I like really healthy "real" food - vegetables, chicken, fish, not too much fat or sauce and fried food makes me ill. I just want a bowl of chocolate ice cream to wash it down. I wish I could change this because if I were good at "dieting" I could shed these pounds in no time - I have the exercise part of the equation down.

What about you? Are you better at controlling your food or being active?

Controlling Food, I am not very active. In a lot of the forums I write that I eat every two hours or so. Example: have breakfast @ 8:30am and lunch at about 1:00pm. I would try to have low Cal. snacks of 100cal or less at about 10:30 and a little extra at 12noon. I find that if I have a good breakfast, lunch and dinner. I just need to add maybe three or four snacks to complete my total day Cal. My activity is a little of a joke and I am not a spoke person for paying for gyms.

I can very easily stop myself from eating too much, and I easily limit how much food I eat.

I HATE excercising though.

I'm OK with exercise - I can run about 35 miles per week if I try - but I find it hard to keep my calories down as well.

I'm much better at controlling my food. Mostly because a) my school takes up most of my time, as well as my two jobs, so finding time to exercise is hard, and b) I not only hate the heat but I'm allergic to the sun, so exercising during the summer is a no go.

I can't stand the gym as well, but on nice days I'll brave everything and go out for bike rides/hikes/spelunking/playing tennis. But not on a regular basis.

So for dieting purposes, yes, controlling is better =D

Definitely exercise is harder.  I am lazy. 

I like healthy food, not big on sweets or fried stuff, and I like my food plain so I never really ate lots of sauces or dressings.  I just have to keep moving because I have a very slow metabolism.

I used to have trouble with exercise.  But the more I do the easier it is. 

I actually have a harder time eating enough.  My son is still young so I spend a lot of time with his homework,  helping him make breakfast (he is not that young) and just being a mom.  At work i am busy enough that sometimes i dont get enough to eat.  Like today.  Breakfast and "lunch" and snacks totaled at 700 calories.  I never did get around to the rest of it.  And I am allergic to nuts so I can't just grab a handful they way some people do. 

I'm like you, lafoutloud1.  While sometimes exercising is a chore, I can easily do something everyday.

Food, however, is a different story.  I could eat all day if I allowed myself.  And nothing healthy.  Box of double stuf Oreos?  Gone faster than you can imagine.  Oh, if we didn't need food to actually survive.

Definitely the food.  Exercise is no problem since the time passes by me so quickly, but if the food is around me, I compulsively eat it.  Even though sometimes I don't like it! =[

exercise isn't a problem for me. sometimes, yeah there are days i don't want to go to the gym, but i get there (unless my body is obviously telling me need a rest, then it gets some R&R) and do something. example: yesterday i did a quick 10 min warm up run. spun on the spin bike for an hour doing hills and intervals (my NEW LOVE... i sweat more on my own then i do in class, plus im trying not to hurt my knees by running too much) and a 15 minute weight circuit. THEN... at night i wanted some stress relief after studying for a HUGE test, so i went back and spun for another 35 minutes. today though... i did an hour of cardio (30 minute run and 30 minute elliptical) and i was satisfied. 

MY PROBLEM... is not eating enough. i've eaten a bigger breakfast, try to get in a lunch, im just so worried all binge at night, and then by the time bedtime rolls around i eat so healthy im at maybe 1300-1500 calories. i should be at 2100 to maintain. ughhhh. stupid school and work.

discoqueen, 20 lbs to go for me, As i sayed above i try to have low Cal. snacks of 100cal or less in between meals. Maybe you should cut back from so much exercise and have 200 or 300 calorie snacks. Sounds like you can do a 300 cal Hot Pocket in between meals?

definitely calories in...i have no problem exercising (especially doing things i like) but i also like to eat but i'm working on balancing it out...something must be working because i am slowly but surely losing

Calories burned are more difficult for me. Yesterday I had to eat some toast with butter just to bring my calories eaten over 1200! But exercising is something I have to force myself to do. My goal is to burn 2000 calories a day (including my base, of course) and to eat 1500. I've been doing good most days but then there are days like yesterday when I just couldn't seem to get up out of my chair and DO something.

I am eating too little...I am trying so hard not to but life gets in the way.