I can't seem to get it right

I (25f) have always been kind of insecure and not happy with my body. I currently weigh 145ish lbs and according to the gym and my home smart scales, have about 24.5% body fat.

I've always been pretty strong and since October 2025, have been going to the gym to do cardio and weights 4x a week. For a long time, I was eating about 1200 cals a day before realizing I was basically sabotaging myself when I started to plateau- no shrinkage in measurements nor in the scale.

Since starting to eat more (I aim for about 1600 cals a day), the number, nor size, has gone down either! I cannot feel my muscles getting bigger and stronger, which is great and largely why I don't want to focus on the scale number (muscles weighs more than fat)

My issue is not with weight as a number, it's my tummy - I cannot get rid of tummy fat. It's not like an inch or so, it's a pudgy tummy that I have a love/hate relationship with. I can't seem to get rid of it at all - no matter how much cardio, calorie deficit or weight training. And it's not like a cute little pudge at my uterus area, it goes from under my breasts to my uterus area (not pregnant lol) - some of it is bloating (maybe an inch or so).

Does anyone have advice for working on that? I know spot reduction isn't a thing really but I don't know what I'm doing wrong! And I eat enough protein too lol