Side-By-Side Photos of Flexed and Relaxed Abs to Make Us All Feel Human

The right lighting, certain positions, Photoshop, and sucking in your belly are little tricks people use to make their bodies look amazingly perfect in photos. It's why we feel so much inner pressure to look thin, toned, and flawless all the time and why people — even Lady Gaga! — are body shamed when they don't. It stinks. It makes us feel ugly and unworthy and can cause some very deep wounds that lead to unhealthy thoughts and behaviors.

This fit woman wants to end body shaming by showing side-by-side photos of herself with flexed and relaxed abs, saying, "So I want to show my followers that although I do post pictures of my body in good lighting/posture/poses, I do not look like that all of the time. If you shame me for this, the shame is on you."

That kind of honesty is so reassuring to hear! With so many women coming forward and being truthful about their bodies, the pressure to look a certain way is slowly being lifted. It's absolutely helping to shatter society's standards and help us embrace being normal and healthy, whatever that looks like.