A woman who shed an impressive nine stone in just 10 months has said her weight loss transformation shocked her friends so much they were left questioning whether she was really the same person.
Gianna Sciortino weighed 17 stone at her heaviest, but in less than a year she dropped half her body weight after she decided to give up fad diets and instead underwent gastric sleeve surgery to combat her hunger pains.
The woman, from New York, was an aspiring actress before her transformation and said her weight left her struggling to be taken seriously, but her surgery has now allowed her to kickstart her career.
Gianna, who is now a successful influencer who shares her weight loss journey and singing talent on social media, previously 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 (PCOS) because of the amount of weight I gained and struggled to lose. 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."
Gianna's pivotal moment came in the autumn of 2016, when she was finally selected to play the character she related to most - Tracy Turnblad from Hairspray, who is an overweight dancer who breaks free from stereotypes to achieve greatness. When the show's run in New York ended, Gianna then decided it was time for her to undergo surgery.
She added: "In June 2017, I received the gastric sleeve surgery. Just ten months after that, I'd managed to lose the eight stone. 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 were a series of tests 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, and 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 recognise 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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