Choose meal plan for cutting.
When you’re new to weightlifting (or proper weightlifting), your body is hyper-responsive and can gain muscle at a very fast rate. During that time, you can build muscle while losing fat.
This only lasts around 6 to 12 months, though.
After that honeymoon period is over, you’ll no longer be able to gain much muscle and strength while in a calorie deficit because the physiological processes and produce more muscle and strength are impaired when calories are restricted.
From this point on, you’ll need to use cutting phases to lose fat, and lean bulking phases to gain muscle and strength.