Call them obsessive. Call them compulsive. Some people are like that. One woman will train maniacally for a marathon--or she won't run at all. It's not a lifestyle generally touted in a magazine like this. But for some people--and Belinda Carlisle is one of them--it seems to work.

For a while, though, it didn't. Belinda's tailspin was well chronicled. As lead singer for the Go-Go's, the hip female rock n'roll band, she had it made. But seven years of touring, drinking, drug abuse and late night partying finally did her in. The 5'5" singer ballooned to 145 pounds, and when the Go-Go's broke up in 1995, the once fun-loving Californian who dyed her crew cut green had nothing to sing about.

Fast forward to 1988: The now sleek and classy solo artist had lost 20 pounds and given up drugs and alcohol, trading her self-destructive mania for a much more positive craziness.

"Two and a half years ago, I decided to make fitness a part of my life," she explains. "I've always had a weight problem, and exercise helps me with that." Sounds reasonable. But then she mentions "hypergymnasiacs"--"people who are really obsessive about their workouts." She admits she tends to overdo it. Her husband (movie producer Morgan Mason, son of actor James Mason) sometimes gets upset when she leaps out of bed at 6 AM to run.

Though compulsive, Belinda has worked out compromises to reach an even higher level than in those heady Go-Go's days: Her debut solo album, "Belinda" went gold; the followup, "Heaven On Earth" has gone double platinum and she was up for a grammy as the best pop female vocalist this year.

The realizations that have worked for the "toned-down" Belinda:

• Variety is the spice of life. A former high school track star with (spurned) college scholarship offers, Belinda now runs a moderate three miles two or three times a week--enough to compete in an occasional 5K or 10K race. She sees a personal trainer daily for cardiovascular and weight-training sessions. "Initially, all I did were aerobics classes, and I got burned out." she recalls. "I've learned that you don't always have to do one thing."
• Weight control means a lot more than dieting. Though her 125-pound frame qualifies her for Great American Body status, she still yo-yo's. A nutritionist taught Belinda about diet, body fat percentage (hers is 19 percent) and cholesterol levels.
• You can tour without going crazy. On the road (her current tour will run through October), Belinda runs, works out with light weights and jumps ropes. She avoids fast food and stops at grocery stores on her route. But if she's craving Mexican food or chocolate cake, no problem.
• If God had intended all women to look like Christie Brinkley, all women would be married to Billy Joel. Back in high school, Belinda and her friends wanted bodies like super-model Brinkley's. Now she realizes "there's no possible way." These days she's pretty happy with Belinda Carlisle's body--and the rest with it.