first let me say hello, im new to the site, i am so interested in becoming fit.
My problem now is that I am 135lbs and 5'8.5". I went to a specialist who calculated I have 28.5%body fat, so as you can imagine, I'm just a flabby mess.
I eat about 1200 calories a day, not really minding whether they're carbs or protein, or fat. The dietist has made me start a 1600 calorie diet, <--first impression, i dont even think my BMR is that high 30% of that is fat calories.
She wants me to tone up, she says i will gain weight explaining the whole muscle weighs more than fat.
The thing is, I want to be tone, at lets say 140, i want to lose fat and gain muscle, and be at a good weight.
I dont want to gain weight of muscle on top of the fat I already have and have it dilute the fat percentage. I dont want her to look at me and say I weigh like 160 and say that my body fat is real low, when i might have the same amount of fat as i do now, just with muscle to dilute the percentage?
i know to lose fat i need to burn more calories than i consume, but my BMR is less than 1600, so i'll have to burn to not gain, and at the same time burn some more if i want to burn fat

so was she wrong in making me consume so much?
does the muscle start burning the fat i already have
what to do i'm confused
doing this new diet is such a leap of faith for me,
and she never specified exercises to do,
i dont know i'm a mess right now

1600 kcal is not a lot, 1200 kcal a day is normally what people consume who don't know how to calculate their nutritional needs, so they go with the lowest number they think is healthy. The problem is, 1200 is generally too little, which can slow down metabolism and inhibit muscle growth. IMO, 1200 kcal diets are a major contributor to the "yo yo" dieting syndrome, where people go on a diet, lose weight, return to their prior habits, gain wt, then repeat.

Your body needs fat. If she said 30% fat, then she most likely put you on a ratio of 40% carbs/30 fat/30 protein - that's good.

You will not gain 5 pounds of muscle in addition to the fat you already have on a beginning routine .To build a significant amount of muscle, you must eat a caloric surplus, have a well designed lifting routine, and patience.

Don't worry, it sounds like she has you on the right track.

I concurr, follow your specialists advice.

Though you do NOT need a caloric surplus to gain muscle, just stop eating rubbish foods - sugars, processed wheat, processed meat, processed anything!

If it comes out of the ground or from an animal and is not changed or manufactured then eat as much low fats as you like and you will not get fat

Here is an article that goes into it in much greater detail loose fat and gain muscle