Really Upset. Suggestions?

Try eating more lean protein, fruits, vegetables, etc. You eat out a lot. Try making some changes to your diet but definitely stick with exercise. Don't give up! You can do it!

Stick to it, exercise more and watch your sodium.

Congratulations on 9lbs lost so far, that's fantastic! Don't be upset about a 1 lb gain, weight loss is NOT linear, and that's probably just a normal fluctuation.

Things to consider:

-starting a new exercise regime/programme very often makes your muscles retain water, which shows up on the scale.
-I eat all my exercise calories but I get a pretty good estimate from my heart rate monitor. If you are going by MFP's estimates, they can be inaccurate, so perhaps only eat half of them back, and track for a while to see how you get on.
-consider tracking your sodium levels in your diary. I'd imagine you're consuming quite a lot (Chinese food, pizza, sausages etc) and that will also make you retain water.

Don't give up though, exercise will be doing you a lot of good, and you do need to eat enough to fuel that. Even if you have been slightly overestimating the calories burned, you will only have gone over by a small amount, and some days you are way under your goal, so it's very unlikely that you've gained a lb in fat. Just keep at it, and see how you get on in the coming weeks. Most people's weight goes up and down daily, it's the overall downward trend that's important.

Also, your body reacts when you start exercising, or even just add different kinds of exercise to your routine (e.g. adding cardio when you've only been doing weights, or vice versa). It has to figure out how to allocate the nutrients again – it's learning, too, just like you are mentally.

As well, you will hit bumps along the way; don't let them discourage you. Your body has natural plateau points. Though my weight loss goals are fairly small, I still hit a roadblock about 5 pounds above my goal weight; my body just decided it liked it there and hung out at that weight for the better part of a month. Now it's going down again. So keep your eyes on the goal; this is a long race and not a sprint.

And 9 pounds is great for your first month! So you're doing really, really well in that long race – keep it up!

I see from your food diary that you are eating high calorie/low nutritional foods...lots of packaged name brands, or even restaurant items....switch to REAL food...for breakfast have eggs, turkey bacon, multigrain toast, or oatmeal with yogurt and fruit...for lunch have a chicken breast with a big green salad (and a light dressing, or oil and vinegar dressing with lemon juice)...snacks could be nuts and fruit....

For breakfast you should eat like a king, lunch you should eat like a prince and dinner you should eat like a pauper...don't remember where I read this...but it translates that you should have most of your calories during the day when you are active, and then slowly decrease as you are reaching the end of your day.

Exercise is necessary for proper body function...without exercise your body will use the energy from muscles instead of fat for daily activities and you will lose that muscle mass.
Change your eating habits...REAL FOOD HAS REAL CALORIES!

You do eat out a lot Like renstwin said, incorporate more fruits and veggies into your diet instead of biscuits and gravy and panda express. Try to eat more whole grains and avoide refined grains like white flour, white sugar, etc. and eat more whole grains like 100% whole wheat bread and brown rice (enriched wheat flour is not whole grain) You aren't tracking your sugar, which I suggest you do. Sugar is in almost everything you eat, especially take out and processed snack crackers. You may notice that the more you excercise, the more you'll want to eat (on a junk food diet) but if you eat healthy vegetables and whole grains with each meal you'll feel more full and satisfied. Don't forget the protein! Eggs, lean meats like chicken and fish and beans! (don't go fried on the chicken, stay grilled or baked or broiled) eat protein for every meal, breakfast lunch and dinner. Definitly stick to the excercise! Try some strength training too in the next couple of weeks. start out with some basic lunges, squats, push ups sit ups etc. Muscle burns fat! Even when you're not using it. But muscle weighs more than fat so when you do start doing strength training and cardio on top of your awesomely healthy-balanced diet, stop looking at the scale and watch the inches around your waist melt away instead.

new exercise does that to me too. its just muscle swelling / water in muscles. They just aren't used to the exercise, and it will all even out soon. You'll lose way more and be healthier over the long run.

I see from your food diary that you are eating high calorie/low nutritional foods...lots of packaged name brands, or even restaurant items....switch to REAL food...for breakfast have eggs, turkey bacon, multigrain toast, or oatmeal with yogurt and fruit...for lunch have a chicken breast with a big green salad (and a light dressing, or oil and vinegar dressing with lemon juice)...snacks could be nuts and fruit....

For breakfast you should eat like a king, lunch you should eat like a prince and dinner you should eat like a pauper...don't remember where I read this...but it translates that you should have most of your calories during the day when you are active, and then slowly decrease as you are reaching the end of your day.

Exercise is necessary for proper body function...without exercise your body will use the energy from muscles instead of fat for daily activities and you will lose that muscle mass.
Change your eating habits...REAL FOOD HAS REAL CALORIES!

^ this

What Brian said. Focus on diet for weight loss, exercise for health.

I'm going to take a stab in the dark here and say you don't know how to cook. You're 18 maybe away from home for the first time (if you're in college?) and eating junk food is the easiest option right now?

First off, congratulations on logging what you're eating. That is the best thing you can do even if you're eating the 'wrong' foods. Secondly, no matter what people say a calorie is a calorie is a calorie. Eat the right amount of foods for your body and you will lose weight. That is fact. You might not feel the best and you might not be the healthiest you can be but you will lose weight. (if you want to read an experiment done by a scientist who ate Twinkies only you can read here http://edition.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html)

Please don't think I'm saying the best option for you to lose weight is to eat pre packaged foods. If you're eating fast food every day (or every meal) I think it's too easy to fall back into old habbits.

Are there friends who can cook? Who you can make meals with? Can you add an extra bit of fruit to your day, or some cups of frozen veggies? Can you start drinking more water each day?

In regards to the 1lb weight gain it is more than likely water retention. It always happens to me after starting a new exercise regime.

Stick with the exercise. Could be H2O weight or that miserable monthly hormonal shift. UGGGGGGG

Men get that now?

I go to the gym 3x a week and the next day, just about every time, I'm a pound heavier. Not sure but I think the exercise causes water retention in the muscles. The days after routine activity my weight drops or stays the same. Exercise is so good for you and the weight gain is probably just water. Good luck!

Chances are, you're gaining muscle -- which is good. Don't get too wrapped around the axles about that number on the scale; being fit is way more important.

Matty,
I sent you a full email, but don't freak out over one pound. I would eat a little less on the calories, but eat better choices of food so do you don't feel hungry. Cut back on the biscuits and pizza. This is straight carbs and sugar. You could probably be losing more weight if you made better choices. You are within your stats, but adding more green vegetables will make a difference. Ironically, my blog discusses this. I would continue to exercise a few times per week, and keep the calories at 1700. Try this for a week, and continue to watch your weight. Make sure you weigh yourself in the mornings when you wake up, using the same scale, with little to no clothes or at least with the same thing on.

Muscle glycogen and the repairing, remodeling of muscle will do this.
I tend to weigh about 3lbs-5lbs more the day after a work out.
The important thing to do here is throw the scale away because it will drive you crazy and buy fat calipers from GNC for like....$20?

My weight goes up and down all week but my body fat just keeps dropping.
=D

This is a good point. All equipment is not calibrated accurately. This is why I don't like to max out my calorie goal every day. I try to be a little under goal, maybe by 100-200 calories, if I work out, to have some room for error in my ability to measure accurately and in the exercise equipment.

How about fiber. i found I was not getting enough so I added it to my daily information. also I try to not eat ALL my earned calories. I do eat some of them back. Keep it up