Fanatical!
Working out daily is a way of life for me now. It’s really no different than going to work, or making breakfast for the kids, or reading my bible — it’s a discipline I’ve built into my routine and developed into a habit. At first it was hard because my habit was NOT working out.
Eating clean every day is a way of life for me now. Again, it’s no different than the other disciplines I have worked on until they have become habit. But when I started P90X in March 2010, eating clean and tracking what I ate was an entirely new thing for me, and it was hard at first.
When I think back on the keys that helped me retrain myself and change the entire trajectory of my life, I will admit that one thing that made it possible was my FANATICAL approach to my P90X journey. I had 36 years of bad habits stored up, and you don’t change 36 years of bad habits by casually deciding to make a change. You almost have to become obsessed!
When I wasn’t working out or at work, I was scouring message boards, studying about nutrition and supplements, and interacting with others who had success with P90X. I had to stay fanatical or it would be far to easy to revert to my old habits. And it worked! I completely retrained myself, did a 180 in my perspective on health and fitness, and it’s remained a habit for over a year now.
My wife and I were talking about this just the other evening — she remembers the times that my fanaticism would frustrate her (I refused to veer off my charted course even once during my first 90 days and it led to some heated conversations about where we would eat out on date night, etc.). There was even the “Carrabas Incident” as I call it (Carrabas is an Italian restaurant that has ZERO healthy options unless you ask for a plain lettuce salad — which I did on my wife’s birthday, much to her chagrin!). But looking back, she agrees that my obsession with that first 90 days is why I have stuck with it ever since.
So if you are just starting out, what’s my advice to you? If you have a personality like mine, with a tendency to revert to the status quo anytime you go on auto-pilot, you will need to take extreme measures to change your status quo. Get fanatical to keep yourself exactly on course until your habits shift and your mind resets to a new status quo. My status quo is now eating clean, keeping track of what I eat, exercising daily, and taking care of my body. That’s my default now. And it makes it easy to stay on course now. I don’t have to be fanatical now because it’s a way of life and it would take something extreme to change my current habits.
When I look at the people who have had long term success with their fitness, I remember their fanatical attack during their first round. I no longer worry about whether or not they will bring it — there is no doubt! They have changed their habits!
While being “obsessed” or “fanatical” may be seen as negative, I feel like it’s the only way that I was able to get outside my comfort zone and make a lifelong change.
If you are like me, do the same!!! Get FANATICAL!!!
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60 Responses to “Fanatical!”
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This is good!
In a word — Fanatical!
Thanks for the tip coach! :-)
You are so right. Thanks!
I also had the same heated conversations with my Dear Wife at times, But like Anita, Rachel also sees that it has been all worth it.
And so much so that she has tried 10 minuted trainer, now that she has lost almost 53 lbs herself and has got her sister using it also. Rachels wieght loss has been through weightwatchers, as she felt that P90x was too extream for her and her hate exersize. but she is willing to start with 10 min workout who know what this will lead to, Here’s hoping…..
Great article Coach! I saw an ad in a fitness magazine many years ago that read, “Obsessed is the word the lazy use to criticize the dedicated.” Kind of liked it myself. Thanks for what you do to keep so many people inspired and “Obsessed!”
I’m less than a week into the fat shredder diet and my wife and I have already got into it about eating out for her birthday at the end of the month. She wants to go to The Melting Pot which is a 5 course fondue place. I told her we can go but I’m not going to eat, the next hour or so wasn’t pleasant.
This hit home like a dart! Ive been called fanatical by my karate instructor, and my wife many times in the past… Before p90x, I was fanatical about cycling, and before that was karate… Youre right coach, its time to get fanatical!
My mom gets mad at me whenever I talk about fitness, because she says that is all I think about! (Kind of true lol) BRING IT
LOL Birsa — I feel you man! Keep bringing it!
I’ve definitely had to deal with this before, because I have been on medical diets before, (cutting out sugar/carbs because of low blood sugar, cutting out unhealthy fats, etc.). I have also gone against the main stream with other things, such as not taking drugs during childbirth, deciding to breastfeed, homeschool, being a born-again Christian… Whenever you go outside of people’s cultural norms, they do not like it. Sometimes they feel it is an unnecessary inconvenience to them, or that it unnecessarily keeps you from being a part of what they are doing. Sometimes they feel threatened because they don’t want to have to think that maybe what they are doing or eating is wrong. They don’t want to give up the food or thing that they love, and so they can get angry about it. I have had to go outside of our culture’s norms for my health and well-being before (as well as my children’s and husband’s), and plan on doing it again now with P90X! Bring it!
Awesome Faith! That’s the right attitude — go against the flow!