Foreword~
It is with great
pleasure that I commend you for your purchase of Cheryl Long's book; Tugboat!
I had the privilege of
following Cheryl's journey during her two month long juice fast, and was amazed
at her determination and transformation. Reading about how she regained her
health and vitality for life was a wonderful blessing for me, and now will be
for you as well!
Cheryl's approach to
living a more healthy life is refreshing and uplifting, and her stories about
her children, who also journeyed with her,
are heartfelt and are sure to inspire you toward reaching your goals.
Like Cheryl, I too,
went on a two month long juice fast and have been enjoying the results of my
experience ever since. The Lord allowed me to lose over sixty pounds and I'm
now living a much healthier life, able to enjoy my family more, and have been
blessed to have made many wonderful friends because of my journey, like Cheryl.
As she chronicled her
fast on her blog, it was always refreshing to see the transparency with which
Cheryl wrote. She let us see snapshots of her life as she embarked on what some
might say is an impossible task; not
eating for two months, and didn't sugar-coat anything either. When times
were tough she let us know, and when the blessings flowed, she let us know as
well.
So as you prepare your
hearts and set out to read Cheryl's book, I hope you're as blessed by getting
to know her as I have been. Cheryl's love for her family and her passion for
good health are only surpassed by her love for the Lord Jesus Christ. She's
genuine, warm hearted, and a true friend who I'm sure will bless your soul with
her story and advice.
May the Lord help you
achieve all your health goals, and may Cheryl's book be an inspiration in
helping you to that end!
Many Blessings,
Steve Fuentes
Author of the eBook,
~Foreword from the eBook Tugboat: My Voyage Out of Obesity
Sample~
"Though I was a chunky
little girl, by the time I hit my teens, I was “thin as a rail”. I could eat
anything and never seemed to gain an ounce! By the time I married and was
pregnant with my first child at the age of 19, I weighed 117. I was a bit upset
though, after the baby was born because I couldn’t immediately squeeze into my
size 7 jeans. It was a temporary condition; they fit just fine a week or so
later.
With each successive
pregnancy, I gained around 45 pounds. But then I would soon return to work and
the weight seemed to melt off with little effort. I did once consider losing
ten pounds and so I purchased a bunch of “weight loss foods”. Problem was, I
ate a week’s worth of diet meals in less than two days. What I lacked in
self-control, my youthful body seemed to compensate for with a high metabolism.
No worries!
In December 1996 I
discovered that I was once again pregnant (with our fifth child) and two weeks
later learned that my husband was involved in an adulterous affair (you can
read about this on my blog in the post HowI Lost My “Whole World” and Gained Eternal Life).
Though, by God's grace, we were able to work out the issues in our marriage, I
reached my highest weight of 179 before I delivered. I also quit smoking
cigarettes the day our baby was born. When I returned for my six week check-up,
I still weighed 179. “How does that work?” I asked the doctor. "I gave
birth to a seven pound baby; surely the scales would reflect that.” He asked if
I’d made any recent lifestyle changes and I told him I had quit smoking. “There
you go!” He exclaimed. “So my options are continue smoking or be fat?!” “Pretty
much.” His words greatly discouraged me.
I've always believed
that my emotional state that year had more to do with my weight gain than the
fact that I had quit smoking."
~From Chapter 1: My Voyage Into Obesity