Gym goer gaining body fat

[CraftyC]

I am 5ft female, 33 years old, 9st 8lbs, size 10, but have a body fat of 38.6%. I have ost about 4lbs in 2 months. The body fat is up from 36% at the start of October. I have been going to the gym twice a week which I never did before, cut my alcohol down (2 bottles of wine a week to maybe 1 bottle), I prep low calorie lunches, have the same 280 calorie breakfast and eat about 1400 calories a day, I have a moderately active but quite stressful teaching job. I don't have a sweet tooth at all. I can go weeks without eating chocolate. I cook everything from scratch, all home cooked sauces and veg in every dinner. I don't understand how I am gaining body fat and barely losing any weight. It's driving me mad. Could there be a medical reason? I did have basic bloods done about 8 weeks ago and I am quite anaemic but now on iron tablets. But everything else is fine. I do have some uterine cysts that don't cause me much bother.

I am feeling very disheartened. I really want to get the body fat down but my efforts are going in the opposite direction. Even my fitness freak husband is baffled. He keeps saying "it has to be the machine" but 2 machines have said the same thing. Any ideas?

That’s the exact paper I quoted😶

No, I am saying that two workout sessions a week won't affect your weight. Other things will. I go to the gym every morning before work and then two c 10k walks at weekend, doesn't make a jot of difference to my weight. However, the workout sessions are for other stuff, bone density, squats so that when you are in your 80's you can get out of your chair unaided and on and off the toilet etc.

Yes @TorroFerney I don't know about the science, but I do know about working out in the gym!

@CraftyC next time you're at your gym, look for a cardio machine which will allow you to work out for calories. An assault bike (also called an echo bike) or a SkiErg will both register your effort as calories.

My PT got me to do 20 calories in 3 separate bursts yesterday, interspersed with 90 kilo sled pushes, and burpee broad jumps. I had to maintain an effort level - registered on the assault bike - of at least 20. Try that - go as fast as you can to generate 20 calories and see how you feel.

20 calories is about 2 small tomatoes. Or a quarter of a coffee shop cappuccino.