Lea Michele sits down for a chat with Shape and reveals some of her secrets on staying fit, her favorite workouts, and her tips on being a vegan. Check out what the actress had to share with the magazine!

'Glee' star Lea Michele sits down for a short interview with Shape magazine and shares some of her secrets on staying fit and reveals her tips on being a vegan. The 25-year-old actress admits she goes 'back and forth' between being a vegan and a vegetarian and that it is important to listen to your body.
"Well, I go back and forth between [being a vegan and not being a vegan]. I try lots of different things. I really feel that you need to kind of listen to your body and what your body is telling you to eat. So I was a vegan for about two years," she says.

Lea also gives some tips and tricks for readers who may want to become vegan.

"Well, everything with being vegan and vegetarian is a really big commitment. You have to do what you feel is best and what you believe in and what your body is telling you that it needs. I really think everyone should do what’s best for them, and what’s best for me may not be best for someone else. But like I said, you just have to do what makes you feel good," the actress told the magazine.

The young star, who lost about 10 pounds in 2009 due to the dance rehearsals for 'Glee', says that she is not that strict with her fitness routine.

"Working out for me is something I do when I feel like it. But it’s really about feeling good and taking care of my body rather than having to fit into any sort of model or anything like that. I try to eat well, and everything I do is really just to make me feel my best so that I can come to my job or my personal life and just feel really good."

When it comes to favorite workouts, Lea says that, "Oh gosh, no, I’m simple. I love hiking, going to the gym, doing some simple stuff. I love being outdoors, I love bike riding. Just stuff that’s fun!"

Recently, the actress and singer promoted a new project by Valspar Paint called 'Hands for Habitat,' where the handprints of various celebrities were being auctioned off to benefit Habitat for Humanity.
"It’s such an amazing cause! We have all these handprints, which you can find on the Valspar Facebook page. You can bid on them and all the donations and proceeds go to the Habitat for Humanity Disaster Response Program. It’s really such a great thing that so many people have donated their handprints and have gotten super creative, although mine are definitely the best and should be bid on the most (laughs)," Michele told Shape.

Photos: Getty Images