Maybe you’ve been on a workout train for some time, diligently going to the gym and happily taking your dose of cardio and weight training, maybe even a few classes too just to challenge yourself. Perhaps you’ve been on this train, per se, for years, then all of a sudden, you’re okay with missing a workout, then two. The idea of going to the gym or out the door for a jog becomes a chore, when it was once something you enjoyed. Have you been there? Are you there now? If so, read on… I think I can help.

True, I am a trainer, but at heart, I’m really a fitness buff and have been since college. My reasons for working out have not always been the same, however. They change every 3-5 years. For example, in college I worked out to equalize the pizza and beer I consumed on the weekends. After college it was to lose the weight I’d gained when workouts weren’t enough to equalize pizza and beer, which I had to give up as well. That’s okay – good riddance. In my early twenties, the goal was to maintain weight loss, then to prepare for my wedding and honeymoon. After that, to deal with the stresses of a high pressure job. Moving into my thirties, my goals changed more frequently: I worked out to stay healthy and strong during pregnancies, and to lose weight post-pregnancy, and to keep up with my active brood. At forty, workouts have become a way to slow the aging process, maintain muscle mass and bone health, and keep arthritis at bay for as long as I can. As you can see, goals and reasons or working out evolve as you do. If those goals don’t evolve, or you don’t take the time to assess WHY you are working out, workouts can become meaningless. Dull. Passe. A chore.

Your body likes change. So does your mind.

When (if) you find yourself losing interest in exercise, it may be time for an overhaul. I don’t necessarily mean harder workouts, but maybe different workouts. Challenge means many things – just trying something new may help you discover a new love for exercise, and a new reason to keep at it.

Last year, I began to notice that I didn’t recover quite as quickly from hard workouts as I used to. I felt tight and unbalanced. I found myself less interested in hitting the gym, more interested in my “rest and recovery” days, which sometimes spanned two or more days. That wasn’t like me, and I knew it. Based on experience, I also knew it was time to reassess why I was working out.

Why do you want to be fit?

Ask yourself this important question from time to time: Why do you want to be fit? Your answer will likely change every few years, so if you haven’t thought about it in awhile, now might be a good time. For me, my reason quickly went from “training for an endurance event,” to “staying fit and flexible for the long haul.” The daily pounding and brutal workouts served their purpose, now I wanted to learn something new, something gentler. Enter, yoga! For me, this served the purpose of both challenging me, and correcting some of the tightness and imbalances that weren’t resolving on their own (most don’t, by the way.) Yoga improved my mental focus, and helped me realize that fitness is about a balance between strength, cardio, and flexibility. And mental muscle. Once I acknowledged the benefits, my attitude toward the gym took a turn too and I found myself looking forward to working out again, but in a gentler way than before.

So before you throw in the towel and quit working out together, first see if you can come up with some new reasons for staying fit. I bet you’ll find a renewed enthusiasm for sweat.

Just when I thought there couldn’t be one more variety of semi-vegan, along comes Flexitarian. It is what you think it is – the option to be vegan sometimes. Many of us eat this way already. Now we have credibility. We have a name. I feel so grown up!

Flexitarians eat a plant-heavy diet, and a little bit of meat. What this offers to those who are curious to try a vegan diet without the strict “no meat, no dairy, no egg” rule is a chance to dabble. Going ALL vegan isn’t easy. In fact, a measly 3% of the population dares to go there. I am not a big meat eater, but admittedly, don’t like the idea of giving up meat entirely. My choice to limit meat intake (I eat no red meat whatsoever) is strictly a health choice, but for many the choice stems from feelings about animal rights, to the overall safety and quality of meats sold for the mass market. Whatever your reason may be, you now have a cool name to call yourself.

A flexitarian diet might look like this:

One day per week that is meatless, gradually progressing to five or more days per week. This doesn’t mean giving up protein. Thankfully, there are many alternatives to meat, including: edamame (soy beans), tofu, beans (kidney, black, navy, pinto), lentils, eggs, and quinoa (a nearly perfect protein that is delicious in cereal, or as a side dish, or even mixed into soups). Non-fact Greek yogurt is also a great source of protein. The variety I like has a whopping 23 grams of protein per serving, which trumps many animal sources of protein. Yay for Greek yogurt!

Benefits of flexitarian eating:

It is good for the earth. Consuming produce grown locally is a great way to support local farmers, and helps the environment. And, according to the journal, Environmental Science and Technology, swapping out one red meat and/or dairy with a a vegetable-based meal or one with eggs just once per week may have the same environmental impact as purchasing all of the food for your family from a local farm or co-op. Wowza! That is so amazing.

It will help you loose weight. Researchers at Tuft’s University found that individuals who consume only small amounts of animal fat were 11% less likely to be overweight or obese than people who eat meat on a regular basis. Plant-based diets are lower in calories, higher in fiber, and lower in fat. All things a person watching the waistline wants.

It is nutritionally balanced. Plant-based foods are chock full of a variety vitamins, antioxidants, and other disease-fighting chemicals. Meat, not so much – at least not in great variety.

These benefits aside, it is sometimes fun to switch up your diet. Like exercise, the body gets used to a routine. If you do the same workout every day, your body adapts and you no longer see the results you saw when you first started. Food intake is similar. Variety is good. Whether you go meatless once per month, or five times per week, you are giving yourself the opportunity to take in calories from other sources of food you might not have room for otherwise. In turn, your body will respond and don’t be surprised if over a period of time you feel more energetic, and healthier.

For some meat-free meal ideas, check out EatingWell and BBC Good Food.