body fat estimate please?

building muscle to replace the fat.

You don't really "replace" it per say, right?

You use up the stored energy it is holding, and then it shrinks.....right?

Muscle and Fat aren't the same thing.

Semantics. Yes deflate the fat and build the muscle.

I figured as much.....
Just didn't want the OP to get confused.

I wouldnt worry about it. Bodyfat % measures vary so much they are close to useless. I always knew they were inaccurate, but ever since I heard the story from someone who decided to test several different measures on the same day and got numbers up to 10-20% points different, I would never waste the time or money on them. He used three of the standard "reliable" measures too, not the "online tests" and they also disagreed with each other: Bioelectric, calipers and hydrostatic. Pretty much useless anyways unless you are a high level sports competitor.

Bio electric is pretty useless, calipers is not bad if you have someone that really knows how to use them and you won't get more accurate than hydrostatic so that isn't useless. Measuring body fat is far more useful of a number to know than weight or BMI. You don't have to be "fat" to have a high BF%. Lots of skinny people carry a lot of body fat and no muscle.

If you want to bring your BF% down you need to start building muscle to replace the fat. Get on a good strength training program.

Actually you are wrong, those methods all have problems with them which can lead to huge errors, and while hydrostatic is the most accurate of the ones I mentioned, it has a whole host of its own error sources including: how well can you empty your lungs, if you have eaten foods recently which produced more or less intestinal gas, stomach gas/swallowing air, hydration level and what formula was used based on which sample population (which may be very off for you). So yes, still large error margins, look it up if you don't want to believe, and save your money for some fitness equipment unless you are an elite athlete.