I'm sure this is a repeat question on here, but I'm new and I figured I'd give it a shot.

My main question is about fat loss vs. weight loss. Like everyone else on the planet I want to get my body fat % down low enough to have that "chiseled" look that everyone strives for. After about a year and a half of pretty solid dieting and 3-4 days of weight training (mixing cardio interval sessions in on my off days) I've managed to get down to about 14% body fat.

Unfortunately I can't seem to get any further. Right now I'm 5'6'', 145-148 lbs (depending on the time of day I don't particularly want to get any smaller, in fact, I'd like to gain muscle mass eventually.

So, I was thinking that I needed to put a little more muscle on my frame before trying to cut down anymore. Ideally I'd like to be in the 10-12% range.

Does this make sense or am I ass backwards? In my head it seems that adding more muscle mass and then cutting again would get me leaned out the rest of the way?

Any help or advice anyone can give me would be amazing! Thanks so much.

Steve

What was your body fat % when you started " about a year and a half " ago ?

How long have you been holding at 14% ?

What sort and frequency of cardio sessions do you do over the course of a typical week ?

How many calories do you target to take in each day ...on average ?

When do you want to be " in the 10-12% range " ? Do you have a ballpark date / time frame ?

All of my measurements when I started: 5'6'' 165lbs (I quite smoking and got porky ) 24% body fat I believe, at least that's what the BF scale I bought told me.

I've been stuck here between 14-15% for about 6 months now. Before I switched routines I was lifting MWF and doing interval cardio on Tues. Thurs. Each session is roughly 20 minutes long, and the treadmill tells me I burn roughly 300 calories per session.

I've recently switched to a circuit workout directly followed by intense interval cardio for about 15 minutes, or roughly 6-7 intervals.

As far as calories go I calculated it using the Harris Benedict and ideally I need 2600 to maintain 146-148 lbs. I've been eating 2000-2300 per day. 90% of teh time I only eat complex carbs and avoid sugars and refined products like the plague, though I do cheat on occasion on the weekends, i shoot for about 75% sticking to clean eating.

Ideally I'd like to get to 10-12% by June, May would be even better. I know I've bombarded you with a lot now, thanks for the reply and help!

Steve