Weight lifting in database

MyFitnessPal does not allow you to enter calories burned by specific exercises because there's just too much variation based on workout load, how much you can lift, how fast/slow you lift, weight, age, yada yada. You can find a generic "weight training" in Cardiovascular Exercises and enter your total time spent lifting for an estimate of how much you burned, but its guesswork.

Go to exercise-cardio (yea, I know, doesn't make sense)-strength training.

Hope you find it OK.

And...welcome to MFP!!

I am brand new here also, so my answer may not help much, but I am also lifting weights as part of my weight loss program.

In the Cardio data base there is an entry for Strength Training (weight lifting). The calorie count for this exercise is very low. This is probably because so much of the calories burned during weight lifting depends on the weight you are lifting, and your own body weight--also there is also a lot of down-time in between sets and rotations, during which you may or may not burn calories. I've found the best thing to do is wear a heart-rate monitor while lifting weights, one that counts calories burned as well as your heartrate. Then you can enter the actual number of calories YOU burned during YOUR weight-training session. When I watch my heart rate monitor during a weight workout, I see that I burn a very high number of calories while lifting, and even some while resting, but I myself lift heavy. When I lift light, the calorie burn is less, and if very light, it is almost like yoga--very few calories burned at all, though the muscle stretch and toning feels great! A good weight session will include all these kinds of exercises, so your calorie burn is probably very specific to you, and varies with each exercise.

This site is great because it lets you enter your own calories burned for any exercise you do. If you wear a heart rate monitor that counts calories (Polar brand monitors are supposed to have the best /most truthful calories-burned calculator) you can enter your exact calories burned for any exercise you do.

Tracking in the Strength Section does not really track calories, but shows you your progress in terms of sets, and weight (if you add 2 pounds to your lifts each week, say, in a month you will be lifting heavier, or perhaps you will be doing more reps or more sets. It tracks the increase in your personal muscle strength, which can be very exciting!

I wish you luck! And good for you for lifting weights!!!! It's empowering! Cheers!
D.