I am a little bit confused as to which way to follow as someone who is 5"3, 116 lbs. I have successfully built muscle in the past year, however, my body fat has increased. I have some problem areas, especially my stomach.

I just cannot makeup my mind if I should eat at a surplus, or deficit, since my weight is on the normal to lower end and I could use a lot more muscle. Whenever I start lowering my calories, my training feels like crap, it starts not being enjoyable anymore. I am also trying to build some curves, and I am afraid I'll lose what I worked hard for on a cut. It is also very hard for me to eat under 1600 kcal a day.

When I eat in a surplus though, I feel like it only goes on my stomach. I do see some gains, but I feel like I simply gain faster in that area. Getting rid of that fluffiness was one of my goals when starting the gym, I thought I would see some progress in that regard by this time, but it is actually worse. I cannot fathom how people eat on a surplus and gain muscle while losing inches off the waist at the same time. My diet is clean and balanced, I don't cut out junk completely but it is very rare that I eat junk food. I cook most food in the airfryer and I track my macros.

Therefore, I am thinking of eating at maintenance. I'd rather have results slower than develop this obsession with food. I was wondering if any of you had any success doing a recomp like this and what was your experience like, since some people say eating at maintenance is the worst option and your body won't change when doing it.