Loosing weight and still gain muscle?

If I am understanding everything on here if you are in a deficit then you are loosing weight the healthy way as long as your not on a starvation diet. I'm doing 1200 cals a day maybe a little over on some days but probably always under 1300, its only been about a week maybe a week and a half. 

From what I'm reading though it sounds like I'm burning lean muscle and not fat, thats my first question is that true?

I would like to loose my fat but also gain muscle to tone up my body, I actually done mind my size I just want a tighter body but I think from all the years of yo-yoing I'm not as firm as I could be.

I still wanna loose weight and get to my goal, but want to firm everything up and if I'm loosing muscle I don't see that happening. So my next question is would it make sense to stay at 1200 on the days that I'm not working out or days that I am just doing cardio and then up my calories on days that I am lifting so that I can gain muscle? Or would I need to up my calories the day after I lift? And if this is a good idea how many extra calories would I need to add, keep in mind I still want to loose.

Or should I just keep at the 1200 get to my goal weight and then start building my muscle. 

I currently do and hour of cardio 4-5 times a week and lift 2-3 sometimes I do a lifting class cause they hit all the muscles that I often miss when going at it alone.

Thanks

I don't know your stats, but 1200 is for sedentary people; if you're not getting out of bed, then 1200 is the right number for you.  However, if you're moving and functioning in daily life, you should be eating much more - and especially if you're exercising. 

Without enough calories, your body will hold onto fat and burn muscle, and you can't gain new muscle on a deficit.  You should start increasing your calorie intake if you want to lose body fat, and lift weights to maintain the muscle you currently have.

Hi, i would suggest about 3/4 your body weight in protein if muscle loss worries you. I would also recomend H.I.I.T instead of normal cardio but your cals are to low, my suggest is to bump up to 1600 cals and do High Intensity Interval Training. 

Also your body won't exaclty always burn fat over muscle in a deficit if your diet is right. As I been in a major deficit almost, 2000 cals while cutting and lost very little muscle.

I do a class at 24 call 24 set its 60 min of endurance and weights.  I probably wont stop doing the cardio cause I'm addicted to zumba but can do more or the 24 set classes.  Does that count as HIIT?

and Im 5'7" 163 and have a desk job so I'm on my but all day, however I have two kids that don't let me get much rest when I'm home.  I'm just worried that if I add calories now I will start gaining weight, I don't really feel hungry right now I feel pretty good.  I was always good for a quick fix diet but I'm really trying to do more of a life style change by using portion control.

as long as your deficit is 500-700, then you shouldn't be losing too much muscle, ESPECIALLY if you lift weights and do strength exercises.

I agree and just try to have a good amount of protein.

Oh I'm a serious carnivor lol so I get my protein.  thank you guys for your answers. 

For your size (i.e. not a 5'0 100-pounder) and activity level, 1200 calories/day is too low.  Try increasing to something in the 1500-1700 range.  That'll still give you a deficit in the 500-1000 range which is what you want to maximise fat loss.

In terms of muscle gain, you're unlikely to see much while eating at a deficit, but the muscle you do have will become more defined as the fat comes off from over top of it.  I'm guessing that's the effect you're going for anyway?  So it's all good.  Also, you can definitely get stronger as strength has many factors - not just muscle size, and the rest of them can develop even though you're eating at a deficit.

Good luck, and keep up the good work!