Do I really burn that many calories?

 I know there are large variences based on height weight age etc.  I'm pretty short so even if I just log in my weight I figure estimates are for people taller than me so maybe I'm burning even more.

I've never really figured it in to my calorie counting or eating habits, but I am curious.  I did about 90 mins today of zumba for a charity event and when I plug it in under general aerobics it says I burned about 600 cals.

That seems a lot.  Is it feasable to burn that many calories in an hour?  I was sweating and red, but I dunno....seems like a lot to me.....

When I work out on the treadmill or elliptical burn 8-12 calories a minute according to my bodymedia fit armband.  I'm 5'6" and weigh just under 180.  So I think 600 calories is definitely likely for you for 90 minutes, depending on how hard you were working.

 LOL, oh I was working (and having a blast doing it)

That's pretty realistic actually.

It really doesn't matter how tall you are though. It's how much you weigh. If you weigh more, it takes more energy to move your body through space so you can burn more doing the same exercise. Of course that assumes many other things are equal and often they are not.

If you really want to know how much you are burning then a BodyMedia FIT or a Heart Rate Monitor are the way to go. Formulas and online databases are based on averages. But you may work harder or less hard than they are assuming. For example, when I first started running, I burned more than the formulas said. But all my other exercises, I was burning less!

 You know I have a heart rate monitor lurking about in my drawers.  The kind you strap around your chest and you wear a watch.  I should dig that out and see what happens in my next zumba session.

 Be sure to reset it to your new weight. ;)

 Oh yeah, good point!

I'll have to get one of those Body Media thingys.  I have always been told those calorie counting things on treadmills and ellipticals can't be trusted.  So I have always focused on my heart rate with my heart monitor.  I think if I keep my heart rate at the maxium rate for my age and weight then I am burning a good amount of calories.....but I have no idea how many. 

I have heard that as a rough estimate for running to use 70% of your body weight per mile as the amount of calories you will burn. That seems fairly realistic to me as the more intense you are the quicker you will finish and the slower you are the intensity is less but you are out there longer.

Lots of studies show that net calorie burn for running is about 100 calories per mile  no matter what you weight. The reason is that, as people get heavier, they tend to run slower so it all evens out.

100 calories per mile is so easy and it pretty much matches what my HRM and Bodymedia FIT say (not exactly but close enough). So that's what I use.