At this stage we all know that Instagram is not the most reliable of sources if you're looking for raw photography.

In fact, it's probably the last place anyone of us would look if we wanted an authentic depiction of a person or a place, and yet time and again we find ourselves coveting the lives of others as presented in a carefully-filtered upload.

Eager to remind us that something as innocuous as a good pose can alter your perception of a person, fitness blogger, Lauren Tickner, uploaded three shots taken 30 seconds part which prove that the images we are exposed to on Instagram are not a genuine depiction of reality.

 

I wish someone would look at me the way I look at my @pescience shaker…‼️I was 'supposed' to train today. But instead… I LISTENED to my body. I am taking a rest day It won't ruin my progress, and this caption explains why(P.S I uploaded a new YouTube vid this morn, the link is in my bio) ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I've been feeling exhausted, sluggish, grumpy… and just not myself the past few days! I have been EXTREMELY irritable, overeating every evening… and it occurred to me last night: it's because I am so goddam exhausted! This has caused both my stomach and my anxiety to flare up, too⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ‼️I know that this extra rest day will NOT damage my progress. Why? …OVERALL TRAINING VOLUME Sure, I usually train 4 days per week. But this week, I'll train 3 time & it won't ruin my progress whatsoever!The most important thing throughout the week is total training volume: if you are still hitting the reps and sets at the weight you 'should' be hitting (with good form), you WILL progress, despite how you choose to split that up.This is the beauty of the #StrengthFeedGuide: it teaches you how to do this & gives you options for training programmes (yep, three programmes in one guide): you can get it at: www.strengthfeed.comIt also teaches you HOW to create your OWN training plan (aka you get to select from over 100 exercises & slot them in, in the most optimal way) Sunday I will be sending out three days worth of workouts taken from the guide for you to try, if you're on my email list! Sign up by swiping up on my story! I LOVE training so incredibly much – it is why and how I have been doing this whole 'fitness' thing for so long. It truly is my passion, as well as helping others. However, at this moment in time, I don't have the option to take a nap or sleep a little longer at night: I get home at around 7:30PM. After cooking, eating, doing any chores (washing up, tidying), it's time for me to sleep so I'm not tired for work the next day! I wake up at 5AM to train, before I get the train at 7ish…so, my only option was to ditch the gym, jump out of bed& dash to the train. I feel SO much better for it #StrengthFeed

A post shared by Lauren Tickner #StrengthFeed (@laurenfitness) on Aug 3, 2017 at 3:45am PDT

"POSTURE changes EVERYTHING! Posing is SO powerful: what you see of people on social media is NOT how they look 24/7 in real life!" she began in a post which has been liked more than 32,000 times.

"I know that if I arch my spine and pop my hip, I can make my stomach look flatter & my butt look bigger. Of course, some people DO have big bums & flat stomachs."

"Similarly, slouching and 'letting go' of my stomach after a big meal makes it appear more bloated: it's just how it is!" Lauren continued. "Tucking your spine will make your butt look flatter: you can literally make your body look SO different, just by standing differently!"

 

POSTURE changes EVERYTHING! Posing is SO powerful: what you see of people on social media is NOT how they look 24/7 in real life! I know that if I arch my spine and pop my hip, I can make my stomach look flatter & my butt look bigger. Of course, some people DO have big bums & flat stomachs Similarly, slouching and 'letting go' of my stomach after a big meal makes it appear more bloated: it's just how it is! Tucking your spine will make your butt look flatter: you can literally make your body look SO different, just by standing differently! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ People will always speak negatively about others: it's horrible, but sadly it is just a fact of life. I receive all of these comments all the time, but thankfully for the more negative ones, I have thick skin. I used to even say these things to myself BUT now I have learned that if I see a 'bad' photo of myself, it is OKAY!!!!! It doesn't matter!!! As we see here, angles and posture are eveeeerything! Similarly, IDGAF if other people want to comment mean things, because I have learned to accept my body and love it for what it is. Your body is so incredibly powerful: give it some credit I also know how to pose to make myself look 'best'. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I don't care how 'overdone' people say these photos are: I think they are SO important. I sometimes still stumble across a photo and think "agh, I wish I looked like that…" BUT, they uploaded that photo for a REASON! They probably took 10000 others and chose that ONE photo. (I know I'm guilty of taking looooads before having ma money shot) PLUS, for all I know, they photoshopped that photo! Take EVERYTHING with a pinch of salt! #StrengthFeed – EDIT: this photo is to prove a point- sometimes one may see a photo of themselves and think 'agh, I hate how I look' …but then you have to remember that you may just be MOVING & caught off guard, so your body isn't looking 'normal'! Yes, I know I am overemphasising each 'pose'- P.S, purchase my training/macro-tracking guides at: www.strengthfeed.com

A post shared by Lauren Tickner #StrengthFeed (@laurenfitness) on Aug 5, 2017 at 12:14pm PDT

"Now I have learned that if I see a 'bad' photo of myself, it is OKAY!!!!! It doesn't matter!!! As we see here, angles and posture are eveeeerything! Similarly, IDGAF if other people want to comment mean things, because I have learned to accept my body and love it for what it is."

"Your body is so incredibly powerful: give it some credit. I also know how to pose to make myself look 'best'."

Acknowledging that she has received backlash for her approach to the issue, she wrote: "I don't care how 'overdone' people say these photos are: I think they are SO important."

 

Three years ago, all I cared about was 'fitness'.. I would go to the gym for 2.5 hours every single day, eat only food that were my definition of 'clean' (v limited handful of foods), and neglect my friends and family in order to pursue my unrealistic goals. I wanted to reach a number on the scale that was simply unrealistic for my body (it was 8 stone, and in the pic on the left I was around that). On the right, I'm almost a whole stone more than that. But weight is irrelevant, it's the mindset shift that matters. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ …what I refused to admit was that my idea of 'fitness' was making me unfit. Mentally. I was lying to myself and telling myself that what I was doing was making me better, making me stronger. But it was making me weak and frail, not only physically. I didn't understand how people loved themselves and I said things to myself that I would never DREAM of saying to anyone else. My panic syndrome was awful and debilitating, causing me to even have to leave school early almost every single day. (This is something I still struggle with today but VERY rarely). ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I was constantly comparing myself to others (especially my 'idols' on social media). But remember, you can't compare your chapter 3 to anyone else's chapter 300. Let alone a whole different book! I have been weight training consistently for the entire time between these two photos, and I have learned a LOT along the way. I have now realised that you CAN eat a LOT and maintain an athletic frame – your body NEEDS the fuel for training! I now track macros and eat 2500 calories per day, and train just 4 days per week!#StrengthFeedGuide #StrengthFeed #FitnessJourney

A post shared by Lauren Tickner #StrengthFeed (@laurenfitness) on Jul 30, 2017 at 11:26am PDT

"I sometimes still stumble across a photo and think "agh, I wish I looked like that…" BUT, they uploaded that photo for a REASON! They probably took 10000 others and chose that ONE photo. "

Also acknowledging the backlash Lauren received since sharing the post earlier this week, one Instagram user wrote: "How can such a positive post cause so much hate?"

"Thanks for showing me I'm not the only one and that's normal,"added another.

No matter how many times we're reminded of the disparity which exists between reality and social media, it never hurts to check back in and see for ourselves.