Best weighs to gain muscle without bulking?

If you continue to eat a deficit you will lose fat and you will see more muscle definition as a result of that. In order to gain muscle you need to eat at least a small surplus to provide your body building blocks.

If you are looking to build muscle and are lifting mainly then many people set their protein as the main priority. Anywhere from 1-1.5g per lb of body weight. Get your carbs in, they are an energy source. My carbs are in the neighborhood of .6-1.0 g per lb and then fats fill in the rest.

Many people like 40/40/20 (P/C/F)

I could be off base on this but that is how I have been doing it for a while now and I continue to get leaner every week.

If you're going back to that old "I don't want to lift because I don't want to get all bulky thing" then read up on it. he reality is that:
1. Most women simply can't get that bulky because thye don't produce enough of the hormones necessary to do so without significant supplementation
2. It would take years of training to get large, even with testosterone supp.
3. The reason body builders looks SO HUGE in photos is that when they are in contest shape they are at EXTREME low body fat% and don't look like that most of the time uness prepping for photos or contests etc.

Enjoy your clean bulk

Just eat at maintenance and lift heavy. You won't "bulk". It is very difficult for women to bulk to begin with...but people who do bulk eat at a pretty good surplus and lift heavy. If you eat at maintenance, you will build muscle and burn fat.

Don't worry about it. You won't bulk.

This is a very common concern for women, we see it expressed here all the time, and it just isn't a problem.

If you want to educate yourself get the following book: "New Rules of Weight Lifting for Women" - It is an excellent resource.

JUST LIFT - you'll love the results!

Adding muscle is bulking. How long you bulk will determine if/when you start to look bulky, whatever bulky is to you.

If you want to add muscle, you need a calorie surplus and lots of heavy lifting. Along with the muscle will come some body fat, it's unavoidable. If you keep your surplus relatively small you'll limit how much fat you gain along with the muscle.

If you want to lose fat, you need a calorie deficit. Along with the fat loss will go some lean body mass, it's unavoidable. If you lift heavy and get enough protein, you can minimize how much muscle you lose.

You'll hear people argue that you can do both at the same time (build new muscle tissue and shed fat). Honestly, I'm not sure if you can or not. I think most of those people confuse getting stronger (strengthening existing muscle tissue) with building new muscle tissue. Regardless, even if you can, the gains are going to be unbelievably ridiculously slow, and that's in reference to a process that is already painfully slow (building muscle on a surplus).

IMO... If you want to do both, focus on 1 goal at time. Either shed fat or build muscle. Your workout routines should be pretty similar either way, it really just comes down to diet - calorie surplus or calorie deficit.

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If it helps, it's a little easier to lose fat when you have more muscle mass.
And you can gain strength in a calorie deficit through neuromuscular adaptations as well.

So I'm not really interesting in losing pounds anymore. I'm mostly interested in losing fat and gaining some muscle, regardless of what the scale says.

I'm not sure how to go about this. Should I still be eating at a calorie deficit, so that I lose the fat? Or will that prevent me from really toning/building muscle? Should I eat at a maintenance level with a lot of protein etc so that the fat will go away but muscle will still build?

What should my protein/carb/fat breakdown be?

Thoughts?? Thanks guys!

Okay, so your question is kind of a paradox for a lack of better words. Gaining muscle implies gaining muscle mass or adding inches which is basically bulking. Are you really looking to show more muscle definition without getting big?

I'm not even sure whether it's better to lose the fat and just tone the muscles or to gain muscle...?

Only you can answer that... it's all personal preference.

Generally, people primarily concerned with looks will cut during late winter/spring to be lean for the summer, then bulk in the fall and winter.

But ultimately its all personal preference.