Realistic expectations when lifting heavy

My goals are similar to yours, as are my expectations. My first month doing SL my bf% went up too. My weight was, kinda, meh (lost a little) and other measurements were down a little, about the same as the month before I started. so, basically I was a little discouraged also. My next 2 months weren't was I was expecting, based on some testimonials I have read on here, but were much better. So, I have, and you should, temper your expectations and stick with it. It WILL work and it WILL take longer than you want. Good luck!

If you're doing 60mins cardio several times a week on low calories, you are probably burning muscle rather than fat and hence lowering your metabolism = no fat loss.

Do no more than 20 min max sessions of cardio, preferably do HIITS rather than steady state, and do more heavy lifting.

What have your measurements done? Hand held BF readers can be + or - 4% off and really depend on keeping conditions as close to equal as possible. I wouldn't rely on it as accurate, but in combination with visual assessment (like with pictures) and physical measurements you can get a better idea of actual changes in body composition.

As for the weight gain, yes, it takes a while (a month or more) for your body to get used to the water retention from the lifting. The gain you see is probably related to more fluid than muscle or just fat (remember water and bone make up lean body mass along with muscle). You also made two big changes at once: Eating more and lifting. I personally think both were positive changes, but it may have come as a shock to your body. It needs time to sort things out.

And look at it like this. In a month you have gained 2.5 lbs. Most people can see that type of fluctuation between one day and the next. It can really mean the difference in how much waste you have in you. The BF% reading (while not 100% accurate) stayed flat. That would indicate that there was a small bit of fat gain with a bigger chunk of LBM gain (again, probably the water retention from the lifting). And since it can be so far off on accuracy even if conditions are identical, who is to say you were not a little dehydrated the second reading and that pushed the BF% up?

So the point....give it time. It does work. Do cardio if you like cardio, but don't rely on it for fat loss unless you switch to an interval program as suggested by many others. Track as many ways as you can and like to see the progress. The scale is a liar and its friend the handheld BF machine can't get its story straight.

ETA: Saw the reply about measurements.

Oh, and to put #'s to this whole thing --

READ
Weight in Lbs / BF% / Lbs Fat / Lbs LBM
138.5 26.00% 36.01 102.49
128 20.00% 25.6 102.4
120 15.00% 18 102

SO...basically, to hit a goal weight of 120 and maintain your current LBM you would need to drop to 15% BF. You may be closer to your ideal goal weight and BF% combo than you think.

I find it's best to ban the scale to a corner in some closet and only bring it out on occasion, and focus on performance numbers.

I reckon if I stick with lifting and challenging my body, and nourish it accordingly, weight and measurements and body fats are going to eventually pan themselves out along the way.

If you're going to lift heavy, understand it's a long-term commitment, and the scale will tell you nothing much to speak of, so you're going to have to find something else to go by as far as tracking progress goes. Because of things like glycogen and water storage in your muscles and so forth, when you pick up a barbell, your scale turns into a lying liar as it can't differentiate where that weight is coming from that you put on it by stepping on it.

I'm withholding judgment until I'm like 6 months in. I did notice that when I took a 5-day break from lifting, my weight magically dropped 5 pounds. WTF? Well, there you go. Cut the umbilical cord to your scale, be less OCD about minor details, and instead enjoy getting stronger, leaner, meaner and better conditioned! If you eat at a small cut below TDEE while lifting heavy, your weight will eventually pan itself out and your body will respond. Just stick with it. I only have like 25 pounds to lose, and I've already decided that I'm going to give this weight lifting thing at least a year or two and then reevaluate at that point. It's worth it, you know? So many benefits to be had from resistance training! I can't afford to sweat over an extra few pounds. That's what got me in trouble to begin with, so patience and easy does it are my motto now. Give your beneficial choices at least as much time as your crappy ones, and then reevaluate. But we always get impatient and want to cry about something not working, when really, the trouble is just with us being impatient, not with the good decisions we're making for ourselves.

Also, your upper body lifts will be much lower than your lower body lifts. It's normal, especially for women. You'll probably be stalling/deloading on OHP before anything else. When that happens, you might invest in fractionals that allow you to go up by a smaller increment than 5 lbs. Your numbers are looking good. Keep it up!

If you're doing 60mins cardio several times a week on low calories, you are probably burning muscle rather than fat and hence lowering your metabolism = no fat loss.

Do no more than 20 min max sessions of cardio, preferably do HIITS rather than steady state, and do more heavy lifting.

60 minutes of Cardio is NOT enough to burn muscle, as the average person has about 2-3 hours worth of Glycogen to use.

As another poster mentioned above, lifting is a long term thing. You might not see significant changes for months yet. It's not something that happens quickly. Especially being a female. It's a long long road, but ultimately one that I think is worth it.

I know you said you weight/measure everything. I too felt like I was doing that, but I fully admit I turned a blind eye to the occasional biscuit or treat and thought, ah well, i've been lifting I deserve it, but it stalled my fat loss for months. Almost literally as soon as I had spring cleaned my diet (I stopped drinking alcohol and eating too much sugar based foods) I began losing again, both on the scales and tape measure wise. You may need to look at tightening up your diet?

Just keep at it, you have nothing to lose by checking your diet and keeping lifting for a few more months until you reassess progress. I know sometimes it feels like you are spinning your wheels, I have been there too.