If you haven't scrolled past at least one 'before and after' shot on Instagram today, were you even on Instagram?

The social media site is a veritable haven for anyone who wants to document the changes their body has undergone as a result of mixture of regular exercise and clean-eating.

While they may be filtered AF, we tend to take these photographs at face value, and assume the person has genuinely undergone a serious transformation, but one woman who is keen to remind us that this might not always be the case is Millie Smith.
 

 

You can't airbrush away insecurity. You can't get self love from an app. You can't hide self hate under a edited selfie. There was a time when I wouldn't dream of posting a photo of myself online without at LEAST a heavy filter. 〰 The real me wasn't: Worthy enough Pretty enough Special enough. Beautiful enough. I got comments of 'woahhh beautiful babe' and all the rest which gave me brief moments of confidence;slowly turning into deep, low self loathing… 〰 All editing/filtering my selfies did was make me feel more ashamed of my natural face, more engrained into beauty ideals and basing my self worth on how I look;making me hate myself further. 〰 I wish I knew then the real me is: Worthy Beautiful special unique always photo ready. Do you truly know what the real you looks like? When was the last time you studied/appreciated your face? WE ARE ALL BLOODY BEAUTIFUL AS WE ARE . . Inspired by my squid @selfloveliv

A post shared by Milly Smith (@selfloveclubb) on

The body-positive Instagrammer decided to highlight just how simple it is to fool followers into thinking you have altered the shape and size of your body.

Uploading a splitscreen shot of herself taken moments apart, Millie reveals how a pose and clever clothing can massively alter your appearance.

 

Same girl, same day, same time. 〰 With a camera angle and clothing I can change my body into something that society would deem more acceptable than the photo on the right. 〰 Recently insta was voted as the most damaging app to body image/self esteem. That's not ok. 〰 The media constantly wants us to be more filtered, more posed, more flexed. Making us ashamed, afraid and resentful of our bodies, our natural vessel. 〰 We compare ourselves to these images of posed, strategically taken photos. Comparing yourself is a thief of your joy/self love and even more so when you're comparing aesthetics to images that aren't reality. 〰 Both these photos are beautiful . Both these photos are worthy. However only one of these photos is truly me, comfortable and naturally loving myself… 〰 Get rid of accounts that make you feel negative, get rid of people in your life that don't make you feel happy, loved and beautiful. Don't let an all ruin your life.

A post shared by Milly Smith(@selfloveclubb) on

"Same girl, same day, same time," she began in the post which has racked up almost 10,000 likes since its upload.

"With a camera angle and clothing I can change my body into something that society would deem more acceptable than the photo on the right."

Focussing on the influence the media has on our understanding of self-worth, she continued: "The media constantly wants us to be more filtered, more posed, more flexed.  Making us ashamed, afraid and resentful of our bodies, our natural vessel."

Tapping into something most Instagram users will relate to, she continued: "We compare ourselves to these images of posed, strategically taken photos."

"Comparing yourself is a thief of your joy/self love and even more so when you're comparing aesthetics to images that aren't reality."

​​​​Using the splitscreen shot to highlight the disparity between the real us and the us we post online, Millie finishd by saying: "Both these photos are beautiful@

"Both these photos are worthy. However only one of these photos is truly me, comfortable and naturally loving myself."

Millie, you do you.