12:19 PM CST on Thursday, February 26, 2004

MEG FARRIS / Medical Reporter

When diabetes made a local chef sick, he saw just how tough it was to battle his weight. But after winning his battle, he is now sharing his career and his recipe for success with future generations. Medical Reporter Meg Farris has the story of Master Chef Ronnie Seaton in this Weight-Loss Wednesday.

Master Chef Ronnie Seaton said he’s a changed man. When he came back from the Vietnam War, his weight skyrocketed, causing him to become a diabetic and nearly killing him.

“I was sluggish; I was tired,” said Seaton. “One day I was coming home and I went to go up the steps and I couldn't even make it up the steps. I was breathing hard and another night I started to drool.”

WWL-TV Seaton said Weight Loss Wednesday helped motivate him

He said he was on his way to amputation or an early death when he saw the light.

“I still have young kids and I need to be there for them,” said Seaton “My wife said, ‘You're not going to leave me as a widow to raise all these kids by myself.’”

Ronnie knew he needed to reach out for help, and after watching Weight Loss Wednesdays in November of 2002, he decided to go through an intense program with Mackie Shilstone's staff. The program included six months of nutrition advice and motivational talks. Plus he got a workout trainer as a gift from a friend.

“This guy worked tears out my eyes. He made me cry every time we met,” he said. “I mean I felt muscles I didn't know I had.”

But when the six-month program ended, Ronnie's new lifestyle didn't. Each day on his own he still eats three meals and three snacks. He said he's never hungry, drinks more than a gallon of water, and makes sure he walks 10,000 steps. He also wears a heart rate monitor to make sure he's in his fat burning zone. He's off of all the insulin and pills, his cholesterol is normal, he's lost 106 pounds and only has 5 more to go.

As the weight kept coming off he kept setting new goals and eventually ran the Crescent City Classic.

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WWL-TV Seaton now teaches healthy cooking to N.O. students

Ronnie also spent a month in Paris and earned the prestigious title of Master Chef, and even knows how to cook an egg 101 ways.

After spending two days under the watchful eye of the Secret Service, he prepared the meals for a party in New Orleans for President George W. Bush. It was so good that the president had him go to Washington for a year to cook at the White House.

“It was exciting except for when they had bomb scares you had to stop cooking and run to the basements and stuff like that,” said Seaton.

But despite the invitation to stay with the Bush family, at the 49-year-old Seaton decided to accept Orleans School Superintendent Anthony Amato's invitation to be a public school teacher at one of the brand new signature schools: The Center for Culinary arts.

There Ronnie is teaching the next generation of chefs how to mix health and good taste in the kitchen. Seaton said he finds a greater reward in sharing his expertise and health tips with students and has even mentored a ninth grader to lose 20 pounds.