Bishop Eddie Long posted a video on his Facebook.com page addressing his congregation's concerns over his dramatic weight loss.
Rumors ran wild Monday on social media that the 63-year-old pastor was terminally ill from an incurable disease.
In the video posted on Aug. 12, the charismatic preacher, who once tipped the scales at a robust 239 pounds, explained that he lost weight on a comprehensive diet that excludes food from a "slave menu".
“People are asking, ‘Bishop, what happened to all of you?’” Long says in the Facebook.com video. “Well, all of me has meelllllted away.”
Long told his flock he planned to live to be 100 years old by eliminating fast food from his diet.
“I wasn’t going to get [to 100] by stopping by Popeye’s. That was my weakness,” he said. “The biscuits with honey and chicken wings, spicy.”
Long said his new diet consists of eating raw vegetables, giving him a boost of energy and lowering his blood pressure. He said the diet is so successful he no longer takes blood pressure medicine.
“I’m on the medicine that God gave you to feed your immune system to build you up,” he said. “You know what, if you really want to move through this world and have influence you gotta be spiritual and you have to walk by His commandments and you have to be healthy.”
Long took time to promote his wellness seminar in the video.
