Weight Loss Motivation? – Remember the Alamo!

by Boyd Jentzsch

A long time ago, in what was then the distance reaches of the American frontier, a small band of men, some with wives and children, holed up in the 100 year old Alamo church mission of West Texas. Making the soft adobe walls as strong as they could, they waited for the Mexican army of General Santa Ana to attack.

All night long the cannonade exploded, burned, and obliterated every safe and strong place inside the crumbling mission walls. The sun rose too fast, burning through the dust and smoke of the incessant barrage. Then all went quiet.

Surrounded, outnumbered 10 to one, out-gunned, running out of water and food and ammunition, they waited. On that fateful morning, after the endless night-long cannonade stopped, out of the smoke and clouds of dust, row upon row of Mexican soldiers attacked, with the drums of war heard on every side.

The attackers were repulsed. Attacked again. Again repulsed.

On the third wave, hundreds upon hundreds of blue and red uniforms poured over the rubbled walls, the biting hot late morning sun glinting through the choking clouds of exploded gun powder.

Out of bullets, with no ammunition, starving, thirsty, exhausted beyond belief, the Alamo defenders were overwhelmed. Hand-to-hand, bayonet-to-knife, empty muskets swung at Mexican rifles firing at close range. One by one they all perished.

All went quiet. The drums ceased. The dust began to settle. The dark clouds of exploded gunpowder drifted away.

The rag-tag Texas army sent to reinforce them, valiantly led but under-manned, arriving late to the rescue, had to retreat. All the relief troops could do was bury the dead Alamo heroes the next day, as the victorious Mexican Army turned and marched away, singing their songs of battle glory.

Then the cry went forth among the Texans…
“Remember the Alamo.”

Quietly spoken at first, it rose with open shouts across the Texas plains…
“Remember the Alamo.”

The numbers of armed volunteers swelled. The Texan Army grew…
“Remember the Alamo” they yelled.

New recruits flowed in from every point of the compass. They were farmers, laborers, former slaves, shop keepers, homesteaders and ranchers. They formed into ranks and started to become an Army. They trained rapidly. More came. They drilled. They became strong. Confident.
“Remember the Alamo,” they repeated as they practiced in the wilting sun.

Finally and hastily ready, they marched quickly to catch the over-confident enemy. They attacked the Mexicans from the rear. The voices of the aroused Texan Army rose in unison as they passionately charged into battle…
“Remember the Alamo!”

Throats rising with each victorious thrust of their bayonet, with each shot from their long rifles, capturing General Santa Ana himself, they cried…

 “REMEMBER THE ALAMO!!!”

VICTORY.
Deep inside you, the Alamo plays out in silent drama. You may not know it, or sense it, or feel it is dramatic, but it is there. You have been holding out, surrounded by overwhelming forces that have smothered who you are, who you were once on the path to becoming. You are trapped at a weight that drains your sense of self.
– Remember the Alamo.

Assaulted by the realities and challenges and the multitude of sacrifices in life, you can feel defeated. It is difficult to go on. More difficult to know what to change, what to do differently to lose weight and keep it off. Seemingly impossible to see how things can be any different.
– Remember the Alamo.

It can hurt sometimes. The sacrifices and difficulties can run deep. Leave scars. Surrounded by reasons for joy, it can be painful to smile… when you are alone with your thoughts and reflections, the future weight and health of your body can seem dark and foreboding – something you want to put out of mind. Confused as to what to do about your weight, yet still doing the same things to lose weight over and over, the endless failures in making real headway stretch to your horizon…
– Remember the Alamo.

Defeat feels ugly on you

No one, including you, wears defeat well. When failure to keep the weight off happens to you, move forward in spite of it. Use defeat as your rallying cry. Raise your courage to victory. TURN UGLY DEFEAT INTO BEAUTIFUL VICTORY…
– Remember the Alamo.

Quit hitting yourself in the head with a hammer. Quit believing all the failed-truths you’ve been told by the weight loss industry and the press. Everyone who follows the recommendations of the weight loss companies fail. Just look around you to see the truth of that…
YOU have NOT failed.
     THEY HAVE FAILED YOU.

In a very tangible sense the weight loss companies failed to deliver to you the resources, the truths, the training, the mental reinforcements you need to succeed at lasting weight loss…
– Remember the Alamo.

Where is the wizard when you need him? Where is your medal for Courage. Where are YOUR reinforcements. What is YOUR rallying cry?
– Remember the Alamo.

Start there. Find a place in you that remains strong. Fortify your soft adobe walls. Gather food and water and ammunition. Then find a place of peace inside your soul, and let it grow.

You are strong enough to handle the inevitable attacks on your needs. Despite the despair that you will ever be able to lose weight and keep it off, the disheartening clarity can overcome you at times. REMEMBER, all that you need, you have already, planted in you since birth…
– Remember the Alamo.

Is there a word, a phrase, a a picture, a place of strong resonance that tells you who you really are? Remember that. And hold it upfront in your daily conscious thought. Put it on your bathroom mirror. Place it on your kitchen wall, on your refrigerator. Carry it as the top picture in your wallet. Put it on the home screen of your phone…
– Remember the Alamo.

Victory comes after your defeat

Victory arises from the heroic effort to gather all your resources into one place – to the beautiful core that is your heart. Focus on the one liberating, life-giving thing – your worthy goal…permanent weight loss.

Overcome the opposition, no matter the cost – there is always a way – LIFE FINDS A WAY.

You are life. YOU WILL FIND A WAY.
– Remember the Alamo.

Rally all the disconnected pieces of your will. Concentrate all your energies. Drill and perfect your personal skills. Attack the rear of your enemy. And say to yourself…

“Who I am matters.
I deserve being happy.
I have raised my expectations of myself.
I will succeed.
My butterfly wings will unfold.
I will soar.”

“I will, from this day forth, find, express, and be – me.”

“I will NOT be anyone’s REPEAT customer.”

When you have gotten that far, you will not have much further to go.

    – Remember the Alamo!

HEART PLAN — WEIGHT LOSS SUCCESS Begins in Your Heart
© 2014 Boyd Jentzsch. All rights reserved.

By special arrangement with the author, CHAPTERS from the book HEART PLAN are published here regularly. HEART PLAN is not about what you eat. It is all about how you FEEL – your sense of SELF – when you are trying to lose weight. Sign up to receive the new Chapters as they are published here.

-by Boyd Jentzsch

Boyd, a recovering Attorney, turned to weight loss research 20 years ago when he lost his mother to the lifelong effects of obesity. He has spent the ensuing years searching the science, and formulating a comprehensive metabolic map of the body — the only complete map of its kind. The map reveals the causes and effects of obesity and related chronic lifestyle diseases. It shows the only proven pathways to preventing and losing excess weight. From that unique foundation, he and his team created a weight loss education program that has helped tens of thousands to lose weight and keep it off. Plus, they created innovative and fun fitness and nutrition education programs for elementary school children, proven to reduce the early bio-markers for childhood obesity. HEART PLAN is a collection of his observations over the years of the emotional impact and motivational challenges nearly everyone faces when trying to keep lost weight off permanently.

See the Chapter Summary to Remember here.

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