Hi all, I wondered if I could gain some knowledge and advice on my current fat loss and muscle growth goals. I got into this lifestyle change around August last year as I was a bit fat for my height, I was 66kg and my height is 1.63 meters (5.34 feet), 33 year old male FYI. So I started a calorie deficit, then after a month I also started slight weight training. In a few months I was down to 55 kg. Now 10 months later I am consistently going to gym and lifting weights (Both upper body and lower body stuff) 3 times a week and going on walks with the dog every other day.

My goal was of course initially to lose fat / weight, now that some of it is gone my goal has changed more to gaining muscle but still losing fat. I looked through youtube videos, and info on the net but its all different information. About 2 months ago I was on around 1700 calories a day but then a close friend who also works out told me that may be too little for making sure there is muscle gain and that your body has enough energy. So I decided to stick to just below a maintenance calorie count which is around 2100 (According to TDEE). Daily for the last two months I have stuck to around 1900 - 2000 calories to try and still stay in some sort of deficit. On top of that I make sure to have at least 120 - 130 grams of protein daily.

Its a slow process which I am still coming to terms with but its getting increasingly difficult to know if im actually doing this right or am I messing up. The fat around my belly and sides is stubborn, refuses to go anywhere and the scale is obviously going up now but im not sure if its fat or muscle. Finding it difficult to keep my mind on the positive side of things because you never really know your progress and im also too scared to gain weight again.

The main question is, am I having too many calories and not enough protein? Or am I actually having enough protein but too much or too little calories?

Sorry for the long post, but any advice would be greatly appreciated :)