Instagram Fitness Star Shows Faking A Body ‘Transformation’ Is Easy

Could this be a new lip kit color? ;) @lipkitbykylie

A photo posted by King Kylie (@kyliejenner) on Feb 1, 2016 at 9:17pm PST

Faking it on Instagram isn’t exactly a brand-new phenomenon.

Whether it’s people pretending to have boyfriends, that they have a shit ton of cash, or even that they’re in amazing shape.

Sure, a load of people turn to Photoshop to tone themselves up or whack a filter on their photo, but it’s pretty easy to spot. But how much effort do people put in to achieve the perfect selfie?

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A photo posted by Jess: My Fitness Journal (@plankingforpizza) on Feb 8, 2016 at 9:07am PST

Well, Instagram star Jessica Pack is showing us all how easy it is to fake that body ‘transformation’ everyone seems to be striving for.

Jessica – a landscape architect in Orlando, Florida – decided last June that she was ready to start a new fitness journey.

The 26-year-old started doing Kayla Itsines’s Body Bikini Guide program, and began chronicling her journey on Instagram. She’s amassed 50,000 followers on her account as a result.

Confession: up until this week I probably haven’t taken a rest day in two or three weeks ? I’ve been going into over drive trying to rush progress and I KNOW this is the worst thing to do. I’ve been overwhelmed with trying to find a work, gym, play balance and it’s been really hard on my mind and body. I set an alarm at 8am to get my day started early so I could go to the gym, but both my body and mind were like nope ?? so I slept in until 10:30am instead. And then I woke up and knew, my body needs rest today. This will actually be my second rest day this week (I took one on Monday to celebrate my roomies birthday) but that feels so long ago already ? Yes, rest days stress me out and do the opposite for me, but I know what I need to do today. Rest and PLAN!! I want to take several hours today to plan out the next few months for workouts, meals, work, play, everything. It sounds tedious but I think it’s what my mind needs to get away from being so overwhelmed. Having a game plan and sticking to it I think will help me out. Plus I can actually have a breakfast, lunch, and dinner today ? I’m so bad about getting in all three meals on weekends. Not because I don’t want to eat, it’s just how my daily schedule works out and doesn’t allow it. I wake up around 9-10am. Get to gym by 10:30-12 (depends on how slow I’m moving haha). I always do fasted workouts on weekends so sometimes I’m not eating my first meal until 2pm. It’s not healthy and I want to change my weekend routine because I know my lack of nutrition on weekends contributes to my downfall. That’s what I think planning will help me accomplish! So today will be rest from exercise, but I still have chores to catch up on, lots of planning, grocery shopping, and meal prepping then maybe relaxing haha. But first and foremost, coffee ☕️ Happy Sunday babes ?

A photo posted by Jess: My Fitness Journal (@plankingforpizza) on Feb 7, 2016 at 8:24am PST

Like many fitness bloggers and Instagrammers, Pack posts many pictures of her progress toward her goals.

But last week, Pack decided to do something different. She posted two bikini shots of herself, as if they were a ‘before and after’ photo collage.

She appears a lot less toned in her ‘before’ picture and a lot more lean and muscular in her ‘after’ image.

? This is not a transformation photo ? This week I’ve decided to do the 30 second transformation photo. These pics were taken second apart this morning. On the left my posture is poor, I’m pushing my belly out as far as possible, I adjusted my bottoms to show my gross, unsightly and horrid love handles. These are often concealed by my high waisted pants and bottoms that do fit so much better now. As much as it pains me to showcase these, it also proves that my body isn’t perfect and that I still have work to do and fat to lose (I’m working so hard to get rid of my love handles and lower tummy fat. Yes it has dramatically reduced already but it still exists and I’m still insecure about it). On the right I’m standing straight and comfortably. I’m lightly flexing and I’ve adjusted my bottoms to hide my love handles. I’m thankful for bikini bottoms that now fit well and hide these but I’m also trying to show that they still exist quite a bit and that not everything we see meets the eye here on social media. You can show you best angles and hide your flaws but at the end of the day what we chose to showcase is a reflection of ourselves. My body isn’t perfect. I still have imperfections and flaws that I’m slowly learning to be comfortable with. I want to be real and honest and open. Yes I’ve accomplished a lot, but yes my body still has less than ideal days when it doesn’t look its best. Fitness and health is not a fix. It’s not a destination. It’s a lifestyle. If you force your progress you know who you are cheating?! You. You only cheat you. Yes I like to show my best most of the time but I’ve also realized by not showing my worst that it only harms myself. Being vulnerable and imperfect is hard but lying to yourself is worse. I know I’m hard on myself, it’s a flaw on its own, but I’m slowly learning to be gentle and kind but it starts with being truthful to myself and knowing and understanding my imperfections and realizing that, although they exist, they don’t define me. I am not a before picture. I am not an after picture. I am not fat nor am I perfect. I’m flawed. I’m scarred. I’m insecure. But I’m learning and I’m hopeful that one day I’ll fully love me ?

A photo posted by Jess: My Fitness Journal (@plankingforpizza) on Feb 9, 2016 at 7:03am PST

But, she explained, the pictures were actually taken just 30 seconds apart and the only thing she adjusted was her posture, as well as a slight bikini adjustment.

She writes on the post:

I’m thankful for bikini bottoms that now fit well and hide these but I’m also trying to show that they still exist quite a bit and that not everything we see meets the eye here on social media. You can show you best angles and hide your flaws but at the end of the day what we chose to showcase is a reflection of ourselves. My body isn’t perfect. I still have imperfections and flaws that I’m slowly learning to be comfortable with. I want to be real and honest and open.

And she isn’t the only one to do the ’30-second transformation’. There are tons of other models out there showing how camera tricks can make online photos incredibly deceptive:

Don’t ever believe what you see online. On the left is a normal picture, and the right is the edited version. Up until last night, I had no clue that you could edit pictures this way on an app(and how simple it was), or that girls actually did it. I wanted to share so that other girls could see this, and see that the majority of those “perfect” bodies you see online aren’t real. All they do is set an unrealistic standard for beauty. It’s shit like that, that causes young girls to have eating disorders and low self esteem. I think it’s about time we start promoting true beauty, and not all this fake and artificial crap. #30secondtransformation #showyourtruebeauty #realbodiesarebeautiful #editedpicture #beforeandafter #midoribeyou

A photo posted by Morgan Storm (@seaofstorm) on Jan 5, 2016 at 8:19am PST

Obviously had 2.5 servings of some kinda ‘skinny tea’ bollocks – either that or 9 minutes following fuxking some kinda Herbalife cleanse ? #30secondtransformation #nahmate #beforeandafterweightloss #progress #happilyobnoxious So sad before. So happy after. Got thumbs up/down to prove it, see?

A photo posted by Jessica Rachael (@missjrachael) on Apr 26, 2015 at 9:46am PDT

Pack shared the photo ‘so that other girls don’t feel alone in their own insecurities’, and added that it has been ‘comforting’ to receive such an amazing response.

Speaking to BuzzFeed, she said:

It is easy to post your best, but so difficult to post about your worse. I want my account to always be relatable, real, honest, and open. I don’t want any girl to see my page and think my body is perfect, because it is not. I don’t want other girls comparing themselves to my best photos. I want to continue to help supporting and encouraging other girls in their journeys to self love and body confidence. At the end of the day, I really just want to feel and for other girls to know that they are enough today, tomorrow, and always.

Let’s talk motivation and contentment. I’m not always motivated. There are days when I simply don’t want to workout or eat right and just give up. I’ve been in a plateau for months now and I feel as though I’m simply maintaining at this point instead of progressing. No I don’t pay attention to the scale much, but I still get frustrated because it has not budged in weeks. I still have fat I want to lose which I equate to pounds I need to shred. In the past, this would have stopped me. I would have thrown in the towel and given up because I wasn’t seeing progress. But today I do not give up. I finally trust the process and I believe I can continue to make strides in progress! Plus I simply love exercising now and it’s what I look forward to most in my day! And although I’m not where I want to be yet, I’m content for the first time in probably my whole life. It’s contentment that keeps me going! I used to rarely take pictures with me in it and now I take so many pictures of myself. I used to cringe at what I saw staring back at me but now I’m finding I like more and more pictures of me. My roomie and I did a little mini photo shoot on my birthday and there are so many pics I’m happy with, so I’ll be showing a few more ? And I think it’s because the reflection I’m looking at is one of happiness and genuine contentment. I might not have a big bright smile on my face, but I know I feel content, I feel strong, and I feel feminine. It’s an image of satisfaction and determination. I’ve found my moxie, I can and I will persevere. My hope for you all is that you find the same energy within yourselves, the determination and drive and courage to make the change you want for you! We all have different insecurities and goals and ways we want to change. Our journeys will all look different, but one thing will remain the same. You are in control of your happiness and you are the one that needs to be brave enough to make the change. Find your boldness, find your bravery, find what makes you feel vibrant and alive!! No doubt in my mind that the outcome will be beautiful ?

A photo posted by Jess: My Fitness Journal (@plankingforpizza) on Jan 21, 2016 at 9:36am PST

Good on her!