Losing body fat, why so hard?

[zabba]

About 3 months ago I started going to the gym seriously, before this I had a reasonably sedate lifestyle, but proabably walked 2 miles a day during the week as part of my commute.

I'm 30 years old, 5'8 and weighed 72kg when I started. Not overweight as such but had a belly, love handles etc. I have some Tanita scales that measure body fat and when I started these gave a reading of 21%. I appreciate that these are not completely accurate, but thought it would give me an indication of improvment as I progress.

Fast forward 3 months, the scales say I am 71kg and 20% body fat, hardly any difference in fat percentage!

In terms of gym work, I am doing 2 spin classes a week, 1 circuit training class a week and 2 weights sessions. I am working hard in these classes and seeing improvments in the weights I can lift.

I feel a lot fitter and stronger, which is fantastic, but it would be nice to see the fat reducing more, as it would be nice eventually to see some abs, I know it won't happen overnight but I expected quicker results than 1% in 3 months!

Diet wise, I've cut out most fizzy drinks, sweets, chocolates crisps etc, and upped my salad, fruit and protein intake.

My aim is not to lose weight, but to build a bit of muscle, reduce body fat and feel fitter. It's all working except for the fat. I've tried those online calculater things where you put in some measurements and they aslo think i'm around 20%, very frustrating!

[zabba]

pilchardthecat said:

Good luck in your journey through the ten-mile-wide and mile-deep tsunami of bullst and pseudo science that awaits you

You have reminded me of my old thread

You're not wrong there, so many different opinions floating around, will take a look at that thread

[zabba]

Xaero said:

Those scales are not the most accurate and you're putting on muscle weight. 71kg at 5'8" is not actually overweight I believe anyway. To get rid of the fat you would need to be more aerobic exercise and alter the diet to reduce carb's. The fruit in particular is bad, it's mostly sugar and would be spiking your insulin levels helping you retain fat.

That's interesting, I do eat a large sized portion of mixed fruit salad everyday, was aware of the sugar but not the insulin retaining fat, maybe I should reduce that, but the fruit must come with other health benefits.

[zabba]

It's not fruit juice i'm having, it's a bowl of freshly prepared fruit salad at my work canteen (normally includes melon, pineapple, orange, grapes). I might cut this out or have it later in the afternoon to space out my meals better. My diet during a weekday normally consists of the following:-

7am - bowl of porridge
10am - glass of milk ( for protein and to stop hunger building up too much)
12pm - Gym session (class or weights)
1.30pm - Lunch - mixed salad with chicken breast, and bowl of fruit as mentioned above
7pm - Dinner - varies but try and incorporate a decent amount of veg, with protein and a few carbs (normally pasta/rice/potatoe)

Gym routine is

Monday - weights
Tues - Spinning
Wed - circuits
Thurs - spinning
Fri - weights

I am using the myfitnesspal app to track calories, it's tricky to be exact with it but normally shows a calorie deficit.

One worry I have is that I am not doing much at the weekend in terms of exercise, I will try and get out on my mountain bike and do a long session on a sunday morning.