Confuuuuuused! What am I doing wrong????

I have only a few more pounds to drop (about 10 to 15 of fat). I'm currently trying to build muscle though. I have been doing fairly well. I have built up muscle and at the same time lost fat, but it has stopped. I have not lost a pound or gained a bit of muscle in that past month. I'm confused?

My workouts consist of different days. What I do is: a 15 minute cardio warm-up, some stretching, one hour of strength training, and 15 minutes of cardio at the end and then sometimes more stretching.
On one day I do upper body for strength training, the next day i do lower body, then the third day i do my core (abs). then i do one day of cardio and yoga (45 minutes of cardio and 45 minutes of yoga). then after that i take a rest day or two.

I have lost 70 pounds over the past year and gained muscle which I am SO proud of. The only problem is I have stopped seeing results. Usually every two or three weeks I notice something is slightly difference. for the past 5 (almost 6) weeks I have seen nothing and the scale tells me I am the same weight. The mirror also tells me I am the same. My clothes also tell me I am the same.

What is it that has stopped me from seeing improvements?

I always up my weights and change my strength training routine when my body gets used to what I'm doing. Even though I did that five weeks ago and then a week ago again, its like I'm not doing anything!

Help?

Also, I eat lots. I eat about 2400 calories a day. Because I work out so much I need to eat lots. This is even brought down because up until a month ago I was eating 2600 a day.

hello I know how you feel I also started weight training to tone up I have lost 100 lbs But I put 15 on was losing that 15 until i started the weight  lifting .It was like i put on the breaks. I was doing cardio and weight training, could not take it anymore gave up the wight lifting until i lose this extra weight. You do know that muscle weighs more.

yeah, i know muscle weighs more. but, i have been working out hard like always and havent gained muscle or lost fat. im so confused. i look and feel the same as i did almost a month and a half ago.

why havent i at least gained more muscle? i mean, i really want to lose the rest of the fat but im also confused as to why nothing at all has changed??!?

Maybe you're a healthy weight now?   The healthy BMI range is 20 - 25 so if you're inside those parameters you aren't overweight.  Muscular people tend to be at the upper end of the BMI scale (or even slightly over) because muscle is dense and bulky.  People with naturally larger frames also tend to be at the upper end and will struggle to get to a lower BMI because it's not a natural state for them. You can't eradicate fat from your body, obviously, it needs a certain amount to function properly internally as well as externally.  Measuring body-fat in a live human being is a very imprecise business so your '10 - 15lbs of fat' may or may not be a true reflection of reality.

So be objective when assessing your current state and be careful of longing to be some  'ideal weight' if it isn't realistic.  You can waste a lot of a perfectly good life doing so.

If you drink alcohol, stop. If you eat cheese, chips, milk or any highly processed foods, stop.

Change your workout schedule to the following.

4 days a week run for at least 25 minutes as a pre-warm up to your workout. Follow this with ab workout for 15 minutes.

Stop lifting heavy and lift lighter with more reps 2 days per week and total body each day. (follow this video and run through each session in 3 minutes with a 30 second rest period. do at least 4 sessions with each exercise consisting of at least 12 reps. I am 220, 6'4 and work with 35lbs total... Believe me this will wreak havoc on your heart rate)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkQahsavtMA

After the weight routine above use same weight and run through three sets of 15 squats.

Now, the two days you don't lift you should seriously consider an intense boxing class that pushes your cardio for at least 45 minutes straight. If you can't afford this then buy some Billy Blanks DVD's and get to work at home.

So the schedule will look like.

Mon. Tues. Run 25min, abs 15 min and Boxing Class 45 min. (I recommend running 2 hours before the class to re-coup)

Wed. Run 25min, abs 15 min, Weight Lifting 4 Sessions at 3 min each and 3 Sets Squats. (You should do all of these workouts straight through without a long rest period)

Thursday Off

Friday. Run 25min, abs 15 min and Boxing Class 45 min. (I recommend running 2 hours before the class to re-coup)

Saturday. Run 25min, abs 15 min, Weight Lifting 4 Sessions at 3 min each and 3 Sets Squats. (You should do all of these workouts straight through without a long rest period)

Eat good foods that aren't processed like fruits, veg, tuna, chicken, yogurt and stay away from cheese, sour cream, chips, mexican food, burgers, fries, sodas except one day a week when you should eat whatever you want but don't kill yourself. Example: Eat a Burger and Fries but not 2 burgers, fries, milkshake and an apple pie :)