Recomp/Bulk(?) Advice Needed
Hi everyone! I feel like I've hit a pletau in my fitness journey and am looking for any helpful advice. Stats: 5'4.5, cw ~157, gw 165?
A little context about me: almost 3 years ago in 2023, I was at my biggest of 204lbs after finishing a semester abroad, moving across the country, and being overall pretty unhappy. During the second half of 2024, I really locked in and I was able to lose 50 pounds! At my smallest, I was 150 but to my knowledge, I've never gotten lower than that. At the time, my main method was walking at least 5 miles a day and basically undereating lol. At the start of 2025, I started to get into strength training because I had barely any muscle after I lost the weight and became more self concious.
Fast forward to now, I've been lifting for over a year, but I'm still struggling with fat loss, especially in my stomach. My body image goals are pretty much just being strong and proportionate with a flatter stomach and big biceps; I've kind of gotten out of the mindset of having the biggest glutes ever, but still want slightly wider hips. I realized that the girls I look up to that are around my height are all about 170ish with tons of muscle and low body fat %, but I've been fluctuating between 150-155 for almost 10 months now and I'm kind of stuck. I'm currently lifting 5-6 days a week for at least an hour with a 15 minute cardio warm up and still taking long walks/jogs after work.
During my weight loss journey, I essentially forced my stomach to shrink and I struggle to eat enough calories to fuel my gains. I'm still working to get out of the mindset that carbs and calories are the enemy, but it's been a slow process for me. At the beginning of May, I started a bulk where I'm trying to eat 170g of protein a day and around 2600 calories, and while I usually reach my protein goal, I'm still short on my calories. I've only gained 2 pounds since I started but I'm becoming more dysmorphic and feel like I still look as big as I did at 200 lbs, especially because of my stomach.
I'm wondering if maybe bulking isn't necassary and if I should just focus on recomping to turn my fat into muscle?? I just wanted to see if anyone else here has had any similar experiences or any guidance on what my next steps should be. Thanks in advance!
ps sorry if all the black in the pics makes it hard to see, it's the only color I wear and I barely take pics of myself anymore :)