Gaining lean muscle, lose fat- how?

I suppose building muscle requires a calorie surplus and losing fat requires a calorie deficit so that's why you can't do them both at the same time. You can't turn fat into muscle. That's why bodybuilders alternate cut and bulk cycles.

Rosie, I feel your pain :(
Earlier in the year I was sick of my wobbles so decided to try and shift it/tone up.
I was already within healthy weight and Bmi and a size 12/14 but I'm carrying too much fat and know I'll feel better roughly 10-14lbs lighter.
So off I went - I exercised a minimum of 5x weekly (shredding, hiit, kettlebells and walking) and stuck to a healthy diet/portion control.
8 weeks.... 8 long weeks and I PUT ON weight

I went up 2 kilos and while my muscles started waking up again and were becoming slightly toned in some area's, the fat wasn't shifting - simply sitting on top of the muscle making me look and feel terrible.
For example my bum - I was doing a lot of squats and lunges and my bum seemed to have 2 parts to it - the top part the muscle was emerging and doing what it should but at the bottom it remained fat/wobbly :( It kind of had a ledge to it :)
I gave up in a fit of dissapointment :(
My weight has stayed around what it was I keep fluctuating with the 2 kilos gained and I'm ready to come back to it. This time I'm going to try and drop the fat first before picking up the kettlebells or doing strength training.

I believe some people just aren't made to do the - build muscle burn fat thing - it does work for others just not for me. That said, it could well be hormonal in my case as I recently found that I have an imbalance but according to the gp, it shouldn't affect my weight or the ability to lose.

Hi Rosie we sound very similar. I'm 5'6" and 9st3lb, size 8/10 and 25%bf too! I do Jillian Michaels and kettlebells workouts but not frequently enough. I have noticed improvements in my musculature since starting the shred in the Spring and I'm certainly a lot less wobbly about the upper arms, thighs, bum and abdomen than I was. Do you have a before photo to compare against? It's just that my measurements and weight haven't changed much and the differences to my body have happened extremely slowly. Could it be that you have made improvements but they've been so incremental that you haven't noticed?

My current plan is to cut over the summer (after my holidays) so I'm going to continue with the JM and kettlebells and I'm combining a low carb diet with carb refeeds (a cyclical ketogenic diet) with 14:10 intermittent fasting (i.e. skipping breakfast) to try and lose a bit more body fat. The idea behind the intermittent fasting is to try and target the stubborn areas of fat, in my case my lower abdomen and thighs. After the summer I'm going to start the New Rules of Lifting for Women workout plan to try and build muscle and hopefully achieve a bit of body recomposition. It's a six-month workout plan so I'll be able to assess how I've done at the end of that and decide on the next step.