Im new to this so bear with me, Im 22yrs. old, 5'9" and weigh about 165lbs. I have a gut and Im tired of being out of shape. I have stopped smoking and changed my eating habits. I want a bigger chest and arms, they are alot smaller than the rest of my body. I guess my question is what should I be doing, bulking up or lose weight, Im not sure. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Im new to this so bear with me, Im 22yrs. old, 5'9" and weigh about 165lbs. I have a gut and Im tired of being out of shape. I have stopped smoking and changed my eating habits. I want a bigger chest and arms, they are alot smaller than the rest of my body. I guess my question is what should I be doing, bulking up or lose weight, Im not sure. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
It's 100% up to you. If you have a gut and want to lose it, then I'd say go on a fat-loss diet (lift weights, too, of course). When you are happy with your body fat levels, then you can bulk.

Buddy, I'm in the exact same boat as you are. I'm about the same age, and a month ago I was 5'9" and about 165 pounds. thin build, little muscle, a ring of fat around the belly that could feed a family of four.

I decided, after much debating (ok, maybe it was just a day) to go ahead and cut my body fat first, worry about bulking up later. After about a month, I've lost 5 or 6 pounds, lost most of the gut (i see 4 abs right now, still working on that) and put on significant muscle and increased the weights of my lifting exercises about 50 percent (bench press max started about 105, now about 165. Despite what people have said, I simultaneously managed to put on some lean muscle while losing the gut --> so it can be done.

If you can't stand the gut, like i couldn't, I recommend cutting body fat first, then bulk up later. I think it'll be easier to go on a clean bulk after already cutting the body fat down, thats my opinion at least.

and sure, i'll have to deal with my itsy-bitsy chest and wee-little arms for another month or two, but hey, the payoff will be huge once i start bulking up.

What i do:

-1600 to 1700 calories a day, about a 50-30-20 protein-carbs-fat.
-three days a week I lift weights, very intense.
-three days a week I do cardio, very intense HIIT on an elliptical.
-once a week I'll cheat (i love california pizza kitchens, too, mr. john stone, though I'm a BBQ chicken fan myself).
-lots of chicken, can of tuna a day, ton of water.

I'm no pro at this, just a beginner with a lot of work ahead of him, but I continue to be amazed at my progress...