Explain body fat to me

anything between 18%- 25% body fat is healthy for women. 10-13% Is EXTREMELY thin for women or SUPER fit

The readouts from body fat scales are far from accurate, so I wouldn't panic too much about the readout. Calipers can be a much more accurate way of measuring body fat (provided the person taking the readings knows what they are doing).

As you lose weight you will lose body fat (and some muscle), there's an article here that might help http://www.livestrong.com/article/134363-the-normal-percentage-body-fat-women/

If you eat in a calorie deficit you will lose weight, if you ensure you get adequate protein and do some form of strength training you will be able to maintain as much of your lean body mass as possible whilst you lose weight.

If when you get down to your healthy weight range you are still carrying excess fat (genetics dictate mostly where it will come off) you can look into re-composition (stickied post on Maintenance board).

Digital scales are unreliable for body fat %. There are ways to get a better measure, but you have to pay someone with the tools and experience.

http://www.berkeleywellness.com/healthy-eating/diet-weight-loss/article/body-fat-scales-step-right

If you are losing weight - you are losing fat. Dietary fat doesn't make you fat, instead it's a macro that is necessary for many bodily functions. The key to lowering body fat is losing weight while maintaining existing lean muscle mass.

"Insurance" for maintaining lean muscle mass: adequate protein, strength training, and a moderate deficit.

1). You store body fat (stored energy) when you consume more calories than your body requires to maintain the status quot...it has nothing to do with chocolate or whatever...you could eat 100% whole, nutrient dense foods and put on fat if you over consume calories. Calories are a unit of energy...when you consume excess energy, that energy is stored as body fat for later use. When you diet and cut calories below that which would be required to maintain your weight, you burn body fat to make up the difference...it's like your backup generator kicks on to make up for the energy deficiency.

2). Those scales aren't particularly accurate for measuring body fat...they can't tell the difference between fat and water.

3). 10-13% BF as a female would be a female body builder's competition level of BF% and wouldn't be healthy long term as it is very low...essential body fat for women is 8-10%. 15-17% is considered very low for a woman...think bikini model or physique competitor. 20-22% is the "fit" category and is typical of female athletes. The low end of average is around 25%.

Eating fatty foods doesn't make you fat - eating too many calories makes you fat (you could have a high fat diet and still lose weight, for example).

So, the fat in the chocolate your ate didn't become your body fat but the excess calories (of which the chocolate was a contributor did).

Mummytofitmummy wrote: »

What should me body fat actually be? 10-13%? Will I get there with my daily exercise and healthy eating?

RCN guidance for Women is age dependent - Healthy is (20 – 39 years) - 21% - 33%, for 40 – 59 years this ups to 23% - 34%

The issue is going to be getting an accurate figure. Bio-impedance scales (the type you're using) are very unreliable. So, you're probably better working to a weight range rather than a specific %BF.

If 7-9 stone was good for you make 9 stone your initial target?

Mummytofitmummy wrote: »

Will I get there with my daily exercise and healthy eating?

Yep! In fact you can probably get there with diet alone, although exercise is great for health.