Can someone explain Body fat % to me?

BF on scales is terrible
BF on calipers is better
Doctor doing BF is even better
Getting in the tank is 100%

Why BF is my question? How about just use the scalre and hte mirror. BF can be confusing and down right intimidating.
I was like 22-24% and was even that fat at the time. I hated knowing that. And in girls you guys have it evenr tougher.

If anything, get calipers, cheapest easiest and most accurate without going to dr or tank

Body fat is frustrating at times, but definitely something that is relevant to know. Yes, measuring BF on scales is rarely accurate. At best you get a ball park figure, but still having that is better than nothing. To answer you're question though, as you lose weight, presumably you will be strengthening muscle and redistributing weight. This means your BF numbers will change as you start to lose weight. Just because you lose 50lbs of fat does not necessarily mean that you've lost 50lbs total. You could have gained 5lbs of muscle and then the whole equation starts again. Getting down to 117 wouldn't put you at 0% mainly because your body requires fat for survival. You have more than likely gained muscle since your earlier weights and that accounts for the difference. For women, my understanding is that somewhere between 20-30% is healthy, perhaps someone can correct me if I'm wrong on that. I come from a wrestling background in high school where everyone wants to get to 5 or 6%, nothing I ever want to get to personally.

Yes you want to use the mirror and the scale, but keep in mind the scale is always incredibly frustrating too. Use everything you can to track progress: measuring inches, total weight lost, Body Fat percentage, etc.

Good luck!

The body fat measurements you get on a scale are actually a measure of the water in your body, not necessarily fat. It's a fairly close approximation though, especially for those of us that just want to get a general idea of where we stand. I personally use both my weight and body fat % as goals because it's not just about losing weight.

If it were a 100% accurate measurement, then yes, your calculations are correct. However, your numbers will change as you lose the weight and not all the weight you lose will necessarily be fat. You'll never get down to 0% body fat. Not even those scary body builder types are at 0%. And as a woman, you should never, ever strive to be below 15%. We women need some fat, especially in the hips and thigh area in order for our bodies to function normally. As a GROWN woman, somewhere in the range of 20-25% is an excellent target to shoot for.

The best way to bring down your body fat% is a good mix of fairly high intensity cardio and strength training combined with healthy eating. You have to burn the fat off, you won't get as far with just diet alone. Also, I saw that you are trying to cut out the fat in your diet. Be careful with that. Fat in our food helps us stay satisfied and also slows down the digestion process. Unsaturated fats can actually be one of your best allies because when the digestion process is slowed, it allows our bodies time to actually use the calories we eat rather than storing them as fat in the body. It also helps our bodies absorb many of the vitamins and other nutrients in our food more efficiently.