Dad bod to not so dad bod!!

Hope things are still going well @Gymladmatt !!!

Maybe a little different thinking but as a newbie lifter I think if you went on a 500 calorie deficit per day and lifted you would make huge gains in body composition. You will most likely gain muscle and very slowly if at all loose weight but your body fat will drop as you gain muscle. You will like what you see in the mirror much more this way. I lost 65 lbs in six months and then increased my calories to about a 500 cal deficit for the last two months and have consistently been lifting every other day strongs 5x5 program with some additional exercises mixed in. I’m barely loosing weight but my abs showed up, muscles in my back started popping out, and so on. It’s mentally hard to lift weights at a calorie deficit but it is the only way to get a shredded look and get away from being skinny fat. If you bulk right now, that is lift on a calorie surplus you will raise your body fat percentage and that just means much more work to repair your body composition and lower your body fat. In the end the only way to do that is lift at a deficit.

Regarding your question of what rep range is ideal for growth, bottom line is you can grow bigger and grow stronger at every rep range. Three reps? Bigger and stronger. Fifteen reps? Bigger and stronger. You're going to increase strength faster at lower reps since you're likely using heavier weights, and you're going to increase size faster at moderate reps since you're sets last longer causing more time under tension, but any range is fair game.

But do realize that increasing weights is NOT the only way to increase intensity. Check out this MFP article for tips to make your workouts harder, thus more effective.