Any Advice? - 20y.o 5'8, around 19-21% BF at 153lbs

[AJ7777]

I'm 20 years old, i'm 5'8 and weigh around 153 lbs (69.6kg). I probably have a fat percentage around 19-21% and want to cut this excess fat around my chest and belly/love handles.

I used to weigh around 185 (84kg) a few years ago and have since lost a significant amount of fat changing up my diet and by doing a little cardio on the daily.
I have lost most of the fat i wanted to lose... but this stubborn belly and upper body fat is annoying me.

I always used to be the 'fat kid' since the age of about 10 until I turned about 18 when I decided enough is enough, i needed a change in my life.

Since most of the fat loss, I have started getting into weight training about 6 months or so ago but have only started a proper resistance training routine alongside a high protein diet (about 160g/day) about 2 months ago, i was always on and off the 4 months before that (which i believe set me back a lot to what i could have been today). I also changed up my diet about a month ago that consists of mainly chicken and beef alongisde around 140g of carbohydrates throughout the day through various sources such as rice, cereal, banana and milk.
Overall the past 4 weeks i've been at a DAILY deficit of around 500 calories while weight training EACH muscle group (arms, abs, back, chest etc.) 2 times a week, with every day of the week doing at least one muscle group all while ensuring each muscle group has 48 hours rest.
I also take 5g creatine monohydrate daily, as well as amino energy as a preworkout and put another 5g scoop with my bottle of water to drink throughout my workout for the caffeine boost.
Post-workout i take 2 scoops of whey (50g protein in total) with the 5g creatine as well as a banana as a source of carbs to replenish glycogen stores.

To get a sense of what my strength is like for my arms, I lift around 26 lbs (12kg) with dumbbells each arm for exercises like bicep curls, hammer curls, standing tricep extension (just one dumbbell for tricep extensions) for around 15 reps at around 3-4 sets per exercise.

As it's been lockdown here in Sydney, Australia, I just have an adjustable bench and 2 pairs of dumbbells with adjustable weights which I believe should be enough as there are plenty of different exercises you can do with dumbbells and a bench that I've seen on YouTube as well as a mat for ab workouts.

As of the last week and a half ive been keeping track of my rep amounts and weight amounts in a diary to ensure im progressively loading.

Anyways, id take any advice to achieve my goal of cutting this extra belly fat (which i believe should be covered with this 500cal deficit for now) as well as BUILDING MUSCLE as my ultimate goal is to achieve around 11% body fat and increase my muscle mass to a reasonable size. But i at least want to be at around 14% body fat in the next 3 months with at least some noticeable muscle gains

[BigHardMuscle]

You should focus on eating at maintenance or a little bit above (100-300cal surplus). You should shoot for a little bit above, but it isn't realistic to consistently track and know your exact calorie count in that calorie range. Of course try to get .7-1g of protein per pound of bodyweight too. Also, don't weigh yourself either, your progress should show in the mirror. As you gain more muscle, and even lose a bit of fat, you will notice despite being a similar weight, if not you end up weighing heavier, despite all of these factors, your body with more muscle will make you look more aesthetic and sets you up for the long-term.

IMO with your limited equipment you should adopt a more calisthenics style of training, and use the equipment you do have to supplement your arm training (like you are already, but I think you need to increase your volume, which would be calisthenics). Work on progressive overload on both pushups and pullups (doing different variations from week to week). Listen to your body, if you can workout on a "rest day", just workout. When you have access to a gym and start doing a more structured workout program, structured rest days make more sense, and even then if you feel recovered there is no reason not to reap the gains.

I'm telling you, you need to eat at a slight surplus (if you don't like the idea of gaining any fat, which I don't think you will especially because you seem to be pretty new, just eat at maintenance but more with the mindset of trying to eat a little over). At the end of the day you will most likely gain muscle while in deficit with your current stats, but contrary to what most people think, I think that eating and working out with a seemingly more long-term intent will give you some good early gratification. It feels nice to know that you are progressing in an optimal way, and its not that you won't be looking better from week to week, month to month.

[AJ7777]

You should focus on eating at maintenance or a little bit above (100-300cal surplus). You should shoot for a little bit above, but it isn't realistic to consistently track and know your exact calorie count in that calorie range. Of course try to get .7-1g of protein per pound of bodyweight too. Also, don't weigh yourself either, your progress should show in the mirror. As you gain more muscle, and even lose a bit of fat, you will notice despite being a similar weight, if not you end up weighing heavier, despite all of these factors, your body with more muscle will make you look more aesthetic and sets you up for the long-term.

IMO with your limited equipment you should adopt a more calisthenics style of training, and use the equipment you do have to supplement your arm training (like you are already, but I think you need to increase your volume, which would be calisthenics). Work on progressive overload on both pushups and pullups (doing different variations from week to week). Listen to your body, if you can workout on a "rest day", just workout. When you have access to a gym and start doing a more structured workout program, structured rest days make more sense, and even then if you feel recovered there is no reason not to reap the gains.

I'm telling you, you need to eat at a slight surplus (if you don't like the idea of gaining any fat, which I don't think you will especially because you seem to be pretty new, just eat at maintenance but more with the mindset of trying to eat a little over). At the end of the day you will most likely gain muscle while in deficit with your current stats, but contrary to what most people think, I think that eating and working out with a seemingly more long-term intent will give you some good early gratification. It feels nice to know that you are progressing in an optimal way, and its not that you won't be looking better from week to week, month to month.

Thanks so much mate!
Yeh once I outgrow my weights i'll definitely need to adopt a more calisthenics style of training and get myself a pull-up bar or something until lockdown's over and gyms open back up. I hear you out when you say to get into a slight surplus, but my main personal goal right now is to cut and reach a level where I can at least look good with a shirt off (at least see my 6 pack) and then lean bulk up from there so I can actually see progress and look good all year round. Gonna stick to an around 400 deficit for now to be lean before summer in 8 weeks and work up from there taking in around 145g protein and around 110g carbs every day until then.