Help !!! Build Muscle, Lose Weight, or both

In my experience I worked on losing weight first - I've gone from 200lbs to 140lbs - and now i'm working to build up the muscle for my new frame. My rationale was if I was trying to put on muscle at the same time it would skew the weight I was losing so it might make it feel less successful for me.

I did both at the same time and glad I did. If you weight train, you will build muscle that will help you burn fat faster. Also, you want to lose fat weight, not muscle. Losing weight shouldn't be your goal, you should lower your body fat %. That is ultimately a better judge of health. Good luck.

Start lifting weights now. If you lift weights while eating at a calorie deficit and getting sufficient protein, then you will lose more fat and retain most of your muscle mass. You may even gain a little muscle mass in the beginning though that won't be much. If you lift weights while eating at a slight calorie surplus and getting sufficient protein, then you will gain mostly muscle, though you will also gain some fat. The bulk and cut cycles are a very efficient approach to body recomposition.

I'd suggest starting with a basic 5x5 lifting program, studying some lifting videos on bodybuilding.com and youtube, and focusing your attention to eating a balanced diet of plenty of fruits and vegetables while getting enough fiber, at least 1 gram of protein per pound of lean body mass, and at least 0.35 grams of dietary fat per pound of body weight.

Good luck!