Gianna Sciortino is a 22-year-old singer from Brooklyn, New York.
But Gianna quickly realized something as she jumped into the world of showbiz. It didn’t matter how much singing talent she had, she was having a hard time getting gigs because she was severely overweight.
After many failed attempts to lose weight over the years, Gianna decided to undergo gastric sleeve surgery and combined it with a change in her diet and lifestyle that has seen her lose half her body weight in an amazing transformation that has jump started her career.
Watch to see her amazing transformation below.
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Video credit: Rumble
She looks so different that even those closest to her had difficulty recognizing her. Now, she is also a successful influencer with over 170k followers as she showcases her weight-loss journey and singing abilities.
Gianna said: “I’ve been overweight ever since the day I was born.
“Throughout my life, I’ve always eaten healthy and exercised as much as possible but after multiple trips to the doctor, I found out my hormone levels were imbalanced.
“By the time I was 18, I had been diagnosed with Polycystic ovary syndrome because of the amount of weight I gained.
“I auditioned for so many different roles but I always felt like I was being judged for my weight and not my performance.
“It felt like they were saying, nice job for a big girl.
“I always wanted to lose weight and I never stopped trying different diets.”
It all came to a head in 2016 when she was chosen to play Tracy Turnblad. Although the character is the lead in Hairspray, its a story about an overweight dancer who overcame the odds and achieved success anyway.
But Gianna knew that her real-life career track was anything but the one the character she was playing had so when the show’s New York run ended, she decided that more drastic measures were necessary.
Gianna added: “On June 2017, I received the gastric sleeve surgery.
“This surgery basically cut part of my stomach out to make me less hungry.
“I don’t want it to sound so easy because it wasn’t. Six months prior to the surgery there was a series of testing and I had to pass psychological tests. I had to work with a nutritionist and had to go on a liquid diet prior to the surgery. But it was the best decision I have ever made.”
“Combine that with high-intensity training five times a week in the gym, now I only eat fish and vegetables with water as my only drink.
“I’ve had people so shocked with how I look now that they don’t recognize me. Before, I just ate too much – it was healthy – chicken and veg, but I just ate so much of it. And as much as I started accepting the fact that I was overweight and tried to make the best of it when the show came to an end, I was back to square one.”
“I was so depressed and hated myself.
“There were no parts for me to play because I was overweight – I was still getting bullied and people just thought I was a joke. I knew I had to do something because I just wasn’t happy. Life is too short to not love what you do and not to be happy. Now, with my successful social media presence, I feel like I can be taken seriously.”
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