what am i doing wrong?

your muscles are probably retaining water from you working out. keep going and you will lean out. its hard to look at the scale jumping around, our bods fluctuate a lot. try to push through the scale mind games, they get to me too.

There are many things that can account for a weight gain, "that time of the month" being one of them. Also, our bodies have a natural rhythm...yours may be to lose quite a bit for 3 weeks, gain a bit back on week #4 and then repeat the cycle, ultimately being ahead of the game. Does that make sense? Don't get me wrong...I KNOW how frustrating it can be to work and work and work and on paper have done everything "right", and still gain. It stinks...it's a horrible, defeated feeling. But again, look at the overall graph. If the line keeps moving down, or in the right direction, that is proof that you ARE doing all the right things and that the weight will come off and you'll be healthier in the long run. I also know it's hard not to weigh yourself every day (or several times each day!), and I don't always practice what I preach, but it probably would be a good idea to pick a day and time of day to weigh in and stick to that. This process is hard, but it is also well worth the effort. YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!!

I do agree that maybe a few things are perhaps too processed, but for the most part, your diet isn't bad. In my opinion, you are still not eating enough. If you are truly burning 1700 - 2400 calories/day, your calorie intake should still be higher than it is. Try kicking it up to 1400 - 1500 cals and I bet you start losing again. Good luck!!

i have a desk job and i've learned to pack my lunch every day. I plan it on sundays when I go food shopping to make it easier. Try single serving hummus and a baggie of carrots and celery. take an apple and some single serving cheeses. THere's also tons of 100 calorie snack bags of nuts or crackers. I buy low sodium chicken or turkey, low cal wraps, and tomatos and make a quick wrap every day with a handful of spinach. I don't even refridgerate it at work.

as others have said, your weight will go up and down and you'd be surprised at how much retained water weighs.

Don't worry about daily fluctuations. I check my weight every day but only register it once a week. Do make sure that you are eating enough. I know that everyone is different but when I follow MFP's calorie recommendations and honestly record everything, I track almost exactly where I should from week to week. You are leaving hundreds of calories on the table every day and at some point, your body will rebel and quit responding to weight loss.

What I've found that works great is to be a good kid for a couple weeks and then have a couple bad days where I go 500-1000 calories over. I typically gain a couple pounds for a day or two, but when I hit the MFP goals hard for a couple days, my body responds quickly and I lose those couple pounds plus another pound or two. It's also a nice reward for the work I put in.

Do not worry about the muscle. Contrary to common belief women don't get bulky without steroids. Check out this link, it's all explained in a very simple way - http://www.fitnessandhealthscience.org/fitness/gettingtoobig.htm

As for the weight not dropping as fast as you would like - I know it can be a bit frustrating, but look at this as a marathon, not a sprint. Slow weight loss is much healthier and is more likely to last than rapid shredding. Even if you gain some weight sometimes, do not get discouraged, if you keep up with exercising and keep your calorie intake smaller than burn (not too small though, AT LEAST 1200 kcal a day is a must), there is no force in the world that will keep the weight on you for long.

There have already been good advises on what to eat. More whole foods, fruits, try to eat small meals every 3-4 hours.

The short answer to "what am I doing wrong" is that you're looking at this in the short term.

Weight loss, like weight gain, is only something that happens over a long period of time. Fluctuations from week to week don't matter as much the broader trend. I came out of thanksgiving weekend two pounds lighter than I went into it, but I'm not fooled into thinking I lost a bunch of weight. I *know* I did damage that weekend, but for whatever reason, maybe I retained less water or whatever.

Don't get caught up in the day-to-day :-)

Just keep eating to keep your metabolic fires stoked. If you starve a fire of wood, it starts to dwindle. If it's red-hot and kept fueled with fresh wood at the right times, you can keep the fire roaring strong.

The scale is a filthy liar.

This!

I know my sodium is high, and that is due to processed foods, but fresh isnt always an option. I try to pack lunches as often as i can, I have a desk job and the only places around are fast food joints. Yesterday, I didnt have anything to pack so I spent half an hour looking up the nutrition of every restaurant in a 5 mile radius and ended up at kroger where i spent another 20 minutes looking at the back of all the labels (do you know how much sodium Progresso Light soup has? Unreal). In the end ended up with a salad from McDonals

You are doing the right thing there. Educating yourself about what is in the foods you are eating. It does take a great deal of time and can be frustrating at first, but you will develop a knowledge of healthy eating habits and your trips to the grocery store won't take so long. I used to spend hours reading all the labels. Now I know what products are generally better for me. It is a long process

Count your measurements, not your pounds. Don't worry, you're doing great!

If you used to not work out a lot you could be retaining water. It is not good to weigh every day because of how much your body can fluctuate. Just remember 1 pound is 3500 calories if you did not eat 3500 calories over you daily intake then do not fret. It is just water and will leave soon!