I hardly burn any calories!

Ok, this may not be what you want to hear..... Or maybe no one else will agree with me..... lol... But, who cares about the calorie number on the hrm?

I refuse to even acknowledge that number... esp on treadmills / stairclimbers / ellipticals (when I used to do them)

The only number I care about is the number of calories i take IN, once a week weigh in on the scale, and my measurements. Other than that, I just work as hard as possible during my workouts. I feel like it REALLY helps to just focus on those things when it comes to weight loss.

Eat healthy, keep your caloric goal in mind, kill your workouts.... and once a week track your progress. If your weight keeps decreasing, you notice that your clothes are fitting differently, and over time you are losing inches... you know you're doing it right.
Try it for a week or two, maybe you'll like it better?

I am now 143... My highest weight was 165! Not once during my weight loss did I ever care about any peice of equipment that told me how many calories I've burned. What did motivate me was getting on that scale EVERY morning, and seeing a drop in weight once every 3-4 days.... (may not be for everyone)

Hope I've sort of helped

Ok, this may not be what you want to hear..... Or maybe no one else will agree with me..... lol... But, who cares about the calorie number on the hrm?

I refuse to even acknowledge that number... esp on treadmills / stairclimbers / ellipticals (when I used to do them)

The only number I care about is the number of calories i take IN, once a week weigh in on the scale, and my measurements. Other than that, I just work as hard as possible during my workouts. I feel like it REALLY helps to just focus on those things when it comes to weight loss.

Eat healthy, keep your caloric goal in mind, kill your workouts.... and once a week track your progress. If your weight keeps decreasing, you notice that your clothes are fitting differently, and over time you are losing inches... you know you're doing it right.
Try it for a week or two, maybe you'll like it better?

I am now 143... My highest weight was 165! Not once during my weight loss did I ever care about any peice of equipment that told me how many calories I've burned. What did motivate me was getting on that scale EVERY morning, and seeing a drop in weight once every 3-4 days.... (may not be for everyone)

Hope I've sort of helped

^ What she said.

Don't over-complicate things. Figure out your maintenance intake. Set a 10-20% deficit. Eat 1g/protein, 30-50g fat, the rest is carbs. You'll lose weight without the hassle of counting exercise calories.

To figure out maintenance, go here. http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/how-to-estimate-maintenance-caloric-intake.html

log on to teambeachbody.com I've figured out all my maintenance and goals and stuff through there..

I am smallish and for the most part at my goal weight. I have the Polar FT4. I think it is probably right.
I just wonder if my maintenance calories may be lower than I think.

If you're at your goal weight and have been exercising for a while, your body has gotten efficient at exercise. Your heart has gotten stronger. You will have to change the intensity of your workouts to get a higher calorie burn.

Sweating is only an indicator of your body getting hot. It's not an indicator of exertion. You can sweat standing still.

If you're on the small side, you're going to burn less calories anyway. I'm 5'4" and 125lbs and I can't burn more than about 250 in 30 minutes.

It may also be your body has adapted so it might be time to shake things up. Try something new?

You're not by yourself. Just kill your workouts and eat a balanced meal, and the rest will take care of itself.

I agree with what people said about not overcomplicating things. Don't obsess over the calories burned.

On the other hand, if you really want to burn more calories, maybe you can work out more intensely? When you do the elliptical, set the resistance higher and go at a faster pace. You will burn more calories in that same amount of time. Or when you do workout videos, make sure you do every move as well as you can. Jump your highest, drop down as low as you can in push ups, etc. There is always room for improvement!

I feel like I am getting in a good workout. I am all sweaty and tired. I look at my HRM after and 140 calories? Really for a 30 minute workout DVD? Or 135 for 20 minutes of elliptical. 60 for 10 minutes on the treadmill.
Only 270 for an hour of Insanity! What is up with this?
I wonder if my TDEE is lower since I don't burn that many calories when trying?

Reality: Exercise (ANY ACTIVITY) is NOT a mechanism to weight LOSS. The REAL calories that will be burned relates to your Metabolism, as well as the OTHER Benefits. That is why an EXERCISE ROUTINE is not that important but in today's world where everyone is so sedintary it may be necessary for most (BUT for other benefits than the DIRECT burning of calories.) Your Body needs activity to stay Healthy (joint mobility...) The Body is made such that NO exercise routine is needed for one to lose weight, just breathing and digestion burns calories. But excercise is GOOD. But you need to develop a diferent mind set about wt loss...exercise will not get you there...it is only about 5-10% of wt loss and maintanance. Diet (What You Eat and Drink) is 90% of wt loss and/or Maintanance.

If you need toning, then just do some routine toning exercises; Body Building is a different matter.

I am smallish and for the most part at my goal weight. I have the Polar FT4. I think it is probably right.
I just wonder if my maintenance calories may be lower than I think.

The smaller you are the less you burn because there's less of you. I've watched my calorie burns slowly decrease from week to week even though I'm doing the same exercises that I was before and that's because there's almost 40 pounds less of me than there was at the beginning of this year.