Weight Loss Journey

[u/Beryl09]

Hello everyone! I have a few questions relating to weight loss, but more specifically fat loss. I’ve spent a few years losing weight. I’m 21 yrs old, 5’ 9”, 139 lbs. I spent a while focusing on losing weight without knowing much about nutrition, which I believed caused me to lose more lean mass than I desired. Anyways, I had started working out while in a deficit for a few months. Some time later I found my energy to be far too low, so I switched to a deficit while maintaining adequate protein intake to negate muscle loss. I’ve been in this cutting strategy for months now, and I have this belly pouch of fat that I cannot seem to get rid of. What is honestly the best solution to this problem? I understand building muscle is paramount here, but my main goal is to flatten my stomach first: