>>76539765
If you're already lifting then 80% of your gains will come in the first few years and you will basically never lose them as long as you're eating in a caloric surplus and not sedentary (and by sedentary I mean absolutely bedridden, never walking or doing any form of light exercise)
A pound of muscle only burns 3-4 more calories each day than a pound of fat, if you have any idea of how hard it is to gain 20 pounds of muscle after your first year of lifting you'll understand that it's impossible to lift your way out of being fat. Unless you're a serious bodybuilder that has been lifting for years your body composition will have a negligible effect daily on your TDEE, the difference between the average dude that goes to the gym and works out vs a guy that doesn't is maybe 300-400 calories a day. That's like two donuts.

You cannot lift your way out of being fat, and it is much easier to eat the caloric difference that's the result of gaining 15 pounds of muscle than it is to gain said muscle.

>>76539769
The reason you want to stop being fat is because you're a puffy lardass and everyone can see you're fat as fuck. Do you want to lose that fat and become skinny, or do you want to lose your muscle and stay a fatass, but weaker?