El Paso woman’s life transformed, credits weight loss surgery

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Stephanie Regalado has struggled with her weight since she was a teenager. As a result, Regalado suffered from asthma, sleep apnea and leg swelling.

“Summers were horrible for me. I was always inside. I didn't want to be outside. I would overheat. I just hated it,” she said. 

The 39-year-old decided to look into weight loss surgery after doctors diagnosed her as pre-diabetic. Regalado described this as a wake-up call, especially after losing her grandmother to diabetes.

"I looked into it, and I was ready to change my life," she said.

Regalado would undergo surgery, losing over 100 pounds as a result. The mother of two said the results were positive.

"Now I'm more outside. I can be with my boys. Waterparks were out there with swimming, exercise, more with my kids to trying to change their habits and everything."

“More energy. I have more energy to do stuff with them. I'm more energetic. I'm more available for them. Not always so tired," she said.

Dr. Benjamin Clapp, the medical director of The Hospitals of Providence Weight Loss Center West, explained that every patient must meet different criteria for undergoing these types of procedures.

"People suffer from, especially things like diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, urinary stress incontinence, arthritis, things like that. When we induce this weight loss of about 80 to 100 pounds, people get better from those problems. Their sleep apnea will resolve most of the time. Their diabetes should resolve depending on how long they've had it, how much insulin requirements they have right now. High blood pressure should get easier to control, so obesity is the root cause of many of these disease processes. And by striking at that root cause, we can we can make them better."

Dr. Clapp performed Regalado's surgery. He said she is one of countless success stories.

"She's had just astounding outcomes. Let me tell you the secret about Stephanie, which you may not come across on camera. She's a hard worker. She is a hard worker. She has adopted this wholeheartedly. She is 100% changed her life and adopted this new lifestyle. She uses this tool that we've provided her with daily, and she probably be the first one to tell you that this is a daily fight," he said.

The medical director said lifestyle changes must take place after surgery.

"If you're not maintaining your diet, if you're not changing your lifestyle, if you go back to old bad habits, then we can see people start to climb back up. Now that can take years to do, and about 10 to 15% of people will do that. Obesity is a chronic disease, is very hard to treat, and it takes often more than one modality. Not just surgery, but lifestyle change, diet, exercise,” Dr. Clapp said.

"Mentally, you have to change how you think about food. How, just be more active, thinking you're not going to go back to your old habits. It's still a lot of mental, but it's worth it," Regalado said.

She hopes her story will inspire others.

"This is like the way to go, like this will change your life for the better. There's no shame in it. I mean, it's a big push. It's a lot of work, but it's so worth it in the end.”