She’s half the woman she used to be.
Brooklyn-based singer-actress Gianna Sciortino, 22, has dropped 50 percent of her body weight since winning the liberating lead role Tracy Turnblad — an overweight teen dancer who defies stereotypes — in a 2016 production of “Hairspray.”
It was after completing her run in the John Waters-inspired musical in a Bay Ridge theater, Sciortino says, “that I felt like they were saying, ‘Nice job for a big girl.’ ”
Frustrations mounted as she feared Turnblad was the only character that could be the “right fit” for her then-19-year-old self. That’s when the Mill Basin native tells The Post she “stepped on the scale, saw the number 240 and nearly fainted.”
Three years later, she’s a self-proclaimed “health and fitness influencer” with 176,000 followers on Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/p/ByiQebGgRER/In June 2017, after a diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome — linked to weight gain and hormone imbalances that make it difficult to shed pounds — Sciortino decided to undergo gastric-sleeve surgery.
“This surgery basically cut part of my stomach out to make me less hungry,” says Sciortino, who claims she watched what she ate her entire life. “It was healthy; mostly chicken and vegetables, but I just ate so much of it,” so going under the knife “was the best decision I have ever made.”
Two years later and 120 pounds lighter, Sciortino is sharing her “health journey” on social media and YouTube, including her high-intensity workouts at Planet Fitness, healthy meals and, yes, some saucy shots of her newly slim frame.
Still, she insists the road was bumpy: “I want to inspire and influence people to live their best lives and feel confident in their own skin,” Sciortino tells The Post. “But I don’t want it to sound so easy — because it wasn’t.”
For starters, she had to submit herself to psychological evaluations and a strict all-liquid diet in the months leading up to surgery. Even after she landed her big part as the confident, anthem-belting Tracy, Sciortino said she had a ways to go to accept herself. “I was still getting bullied and people just thought I was a joke,” she says. “I was so depressed and hated myself.”
She says gastric surgery was just one tool in her transformation. A diet of fish, veggies, salad — and “special treats” of chicken and turkey breast — helps her keep trim. Meat, dairy and any liquid besides water is on the no-no list.
Five-days-a-week HIIT workouts — that’s spurts of cardio with weight training to help jump-start metabolism — keep Sciortino fit. Although the performer doesn’t have an upcoming show, she says she feels confident in her ability to land another part.
“I auditioned for so many different roles, but I always felt like I was being judged for my weight and not my performance,” says Sciortino. “Now, with my successful social media presence, I feel like I can be taken seriously.”