The Science of Fasting
I will probably get corrected by some gym expert on these boards, but here's what I think may be the cause. When you say you are trying to build muscle are you doing heavier weights and fewer reps? That is the recipe for bulking up. Less weight and more reps are for getting lean or more ripped. As I got older I switched to the latter and kinda regret going for the vanity of bulk when I was younger. I'm not thrilled about being in the moobs stage of life. ;)
I don't lift in the power lifter range. I aim for 8-12 rep range. It's also really hard for women to bulk, we just don't have the testosterone that men do.
I have built a ton of muscle over the past year. But it's so hard to lose the fat on top of it. I am not fat, don't get me wrong, any time I say something like that people roll their eyes and call me crazy...but I am also not leaning out like many other women who would just by lifting.
I am also doing significantly less cardio (15-20 mins 4x per week) lately because I focus on lifting. Strength training is really important for women as we age due to loss of hormones. I lost about 10 lbs last year lifting "heavy" (it's heavy for me and I always aim to increase weight or reps over time as long as I keep good form). But I had to couple it with an ish ton of cardio (30 mins + walking 3.5 miles 3-4 x per week)along with it and TBH, I just don't have that kind of time as part of a regular routine.
I guess maybe I should drop the weights to 3x/week and then do like 1 hour of cardio 3x/week.
I think someone mentioned it and I will acknowledge it that it's so hard to keep weight off now because of how sedentary I am. Like I do work out but when you consider that I work from home and am not getting enough steps/movement in like I would if I had to get ready for work every day, walk out to the car, walk to the office building, walk across the building to the restroom, walk to meeting rooms, walk to my car, etc etc, that's taking away a lot of movement that one would naturally get working outside the house. After I work out, I am usually not up for additional walking or another hour of time suck to get steps in. It's hard to find balance and it's hard to find enough time during the work day to get out and walk because of all the stupid meetings.