Q: Hi Mike,

This is probably the most useful fitness site on the web. I have been working out for 3 weeks on your 5 day weight training while doing 30min cardio on the other two days. I have two questions for you:

1. According to your fitness plan for me to get 'cut', I need to do 3 30-min cardio a week. Since I do two of those sessions on bike, is it okay to breakdown the third session in two 15min cardio on bike after finishing my regular weight training on one of the other five days?

2. Like I said, I have been onschedule for 3 weeks. I love it. Sometimes it is hard not to eat that pizza or stay away from pasta, but I have been able to succumb those thoughts by filling up on water and vegetables. My problem is that even though I eat healthy and take close the protein I need, I dont follow the complete eating schedule.

will that be a problem to get the result i want since I am trying to lose a gut?

3. what do you think of vegetables that are not considered, 'green veggies'? I eat probably about 2-3 carrots a day.

A: Glad to hear you're liking the program and sticking to it! I'll answer your questions in order...

1. Yes, that is perfectly fine. The programs I give are just guides -- you can and should customize them to your specific needs.

2. Same as above, it's just a guide and there's nobody in world who can follow it exactly day in and day out. If you can follow it only, say, 80 percent of the time you'll still get very good results. Though do try to not eat complete junk for the times when you're not following the program.

3. I like the term 'green veggies' to hint people to eat more of things like lettuce, spinach, and broccoli. But virtually all veggies are great for you -- the main exceptions when trying to lose weight are potatoes and corn. Carrots are relatively calorie-dense as far as veggies go, but certainly, two or three or even five carrots per day are perfectly fine.

So everything you're doing is right on -- great job and keep it going!