HRM calories burned seems high...really eat this much?

belligerent599

I'm 5'6", 30 years old, F. I'm at about 155lbs right now (..up from 130 two years ago, argh). I work out 5-6 times a week, at least an hour a day. Strength training 3x a week, with cardio 3-5x a week (depending on how I feel or what else I have to do). I lift fairly heavy (not as heavy as I used to because I don't have access to a gym anymore, and I was in a car accident about four months ago. I'm doing barbell overhead press at 50 right now, as an example). My BF% is about 24.5%, which is up 2% from this time last year. I keep gaining weight and it's really distressing to me. I've tried a lot of stuff, such as going wheat and dairy free (no positive results from either, btw), hiring a personal trainer (again, no results!)...I know I don't sleep enough, which I'm trying to fix, and up until two months ago was in a very stressful job situation, but it can't all be that.

I bought a Polar FT7 HRM to see exactly how many calories I'm burning per day since I'm pretty sure I wasn't eating enough.

I've worn it for a few random 24-hour periods to use as a sample and then averaged them. On a day when I don't exercise, it puts my calorie burn at 2900. On days I exercise, it averages 3900+. Does this seem high to anybody else?

I'm just getting back into calorie counting after taking an extended break from it. Because of the HRM readings, I'd been trying to eat more in the last few weeks, but I've just been putting on more weight. I don't really eat junk food (I cook all my own meals...generally lean meats and fresh vegetables with no processing) and I haven't had fast food more than a handful of times over the past few years. I've been on a pretty restricted diet for a while and haven't been able to lose bf, but eating more doesn't seem to be working, either. MFP is giving me a goal net of 1460, which I will try, but if I really am burning closer to 2900-3900 calories, isn't that too low?

LOL, it would be nice if this were easier, wouldn't it?