i'd imagine theyd work, id love to try em

Some people discourage doing weight training and cardio the same day. I personally don't, but I'm not a personal trainer. Stick with low weight high reps for weight loss. Weight lifting then becomes like a cardio workout.

I do some exercises with weights...sometimes situps with plates etc. I wouldn't start doing an ab exercise with weights, I'd work up to weights.

Well the best way to lose body fat is doing cardio. Unfortunately, you get energy from carbs which allow you to do the cardio necessary to burn the fat. I personally love eating seafood and chicken so I won't do the low carb thing, but there are a lot of low carb forums out there....I imagine theres...

Definitely take a look at your footwear. The previous post has a point as well. Your calves will build naturally through running and cardio, I wouldn't really worry about focusing on them.

I don't mind the idea of doing cardio the same day as weight training, but I wouldn't do it if you're looking to gain muscle. I usually do cardio after weight training, not before. I just do 5 min before to get the blood circulating.