Fatloss first timer...HELP !

[badinric]

Hey everyone,

This would be the first time I will be doing Fatloss in my life. I found AE's program about 6 years ago and have been doing mass gain, with the first 3 years all being trial and error, in that period I gained fat, due to some over consumption of sugar.

Basically, I'm what AE calls skinny fat. I'm pretty skinny but I have fat around my gut and my chest (it's pretty small but it's something like a man-breast, I believe what they call). I'm 6'4", Small frame (my wrists are about 7'') I am currently on mass gain and on about 20x my body weight of 187lbs in calories.

I want to do this correctly so I need your help. Here are my questions.

1) I want to switch from mass gain to fatloss gradually, basically I'm going to have to go down to 17x (week 1) then down to 15x (week 2 or 3) eventually and stay there.
First off, is that something right to do, or should I just quickly go down to 15x.
on 40-30-30, 17x my lean body mass of 157lbs, the protein intake is about 266g. Is that something ok I can do?

2) What are the most efficient supplements to get (aside from Flaxseed oil, vitamins, Myoplex, and the after workout drinks)? Could you please tell me exactly what they are so that I can order them? I think AE, uses Aspirin (blood thinner), Caffeine, etc.

3) The machines at my gym are crap and don't read heart rate. I think someone before mentioned to me that I can buy a cheap machine to wear around my chest or something that gives me that reading. Can you please tell me what that is again so that I can order it?

4) Is there a myth going around that the Bike cardio machine only hits your legs and not your entire body which means that I have to be running to get maximum cardio? I have a few friends who told me that, but AE does the bike and so do a lot people here. So I don't know what to think anymore.

5) Any suggestions on meal plans that I can use? I can make one but I'd prefer to hear what you guys have to say about mixing foods and what to MAINLY avoid to get maximum results.

6) I have a pretty packed schedule. Also the closest gym to where I work and live opens T, TH, Sat for men and the rest of the week for women. It's equivalent, is about 45 minutes away and has the reverse. Basically what I'm saying is since driving that far is not exactly being efficient with my usage of time, I HAVE TO HAVE TO HAVE TO, do cardio and workout all on the same days (Cardio in the morning, Workout in the everning OF THE SAME DAY). Is that possible? Does it work efficiently?

7) How much fat and muscle should I expect to lose a week? As I say in the next question I don't think I'm doing measurments right so how can I be sure I am losing fat?

8) Finally, I think I'm doing my bf measurments wrong, so I would like to post a picture and possibly have someone here estimate what it is. I think it's between 14%-17% (big range I know but I'm no expert). An example would be my chest. I hold the fat and pull it as fat away from the body, then I bring the caliper and squeeze slightly right above where my thumb and index finger are gripping and the reading is about 22mm. If I squeeze the caliper a little harder it goes down to 18mm. If you want to tell me that the clicker on the caliper is when I should stop, I will tell you sometimes it clicks before I even touch the skin, I don't know if it's something to go by.

Thanks,