Background Info:
I am within normal BMI, haven't been working out for long. I do have excess body fat at this time, but still within normal BMI. Right now I am doing strenuous free weights ~an hour three or four times a week, with some yoga or cardio on days I do not do free weights.

Historically, I have done enough working out, but have had bad eating habits, usually under weight for my height and not healthy. Sometimes I don't get enough food and eat infrequent meals that are unhealthy(so even though I don't eat enough I still have excess body fat) but for the most part, now I am doing alright with eating healthy.

My friend was telling me to get all the daily recommended amount of protein and to have lots of fiber but I am not sure if I should take in more calories or less.

My question
Do I need to take in more calories than normal in order to let muscles build up, or do I need to take in less than normal in order to burn more fat so that muscles can build up?

Thanks for any advice.

Just eat at 200-300 calories above maintenance.

Nobody is going go to it dial it exact. It's all trial & error. If you think your belly fat is increasing too much for your liking, cut down your calories a bit. At one point you will find that you might have to put on some more fat to put more muscle.

yeah,
i have found the easiest way to get rid of a plateau is to take a week or two and just drop everything except protein, supplements, ect.
lol.

Burning more fat isn't necessarily going to aid your body in muscle development.

Particularly in the early training stages (first 2-6 months) it is possible to develop a decent amount of muscle even in a caloric deficit, provided you aren't starving yourself and you are resistance training on a regular basis. This is because resistance training improves your body's ability to absorb and utilize proteins for muscle development, even in a caloric deficit.

After the initial training period, it is still possible for your body to develop muscle while in caloric deficit, but you can speed the process by increasing caloric intake (particularly proteins), which is often called "bulking." You will, however, also put on weight in the form of fat mass during a bulk, which is why, once you've reached your target muscle mass/physique, you would switch to a cut, in which you continue your resistance training program to maintain your physique while moving back to a caloric deficit in order to lose the fat mass.

What is your goal?

If you want to build muscle faster, eat more calorie via carbs and protein so the body is in anarobic state.

If you are trying to trim the bodyfat, cut back on calories and eat more fiber to put the body in catabolic state.

Like phase said, you maybe able to do both initially when you start back or just starting weight training but eventually you will have to pick one state (anabolic or catabolic) and stay there for several weeks.