Let’s be honest with ourselves: we all love before-and-after pictures on Instagram. They motivate and inspire us to become better versions of ourselves; but there’s one huge problem: they’re often a lie. Those #TransformationTuesday posts on Instagram that we all love so much are often staged and edited until they look just right. One CrossFit athlete is here to set the record straight.

We all know by now not to believe everything we see; but even the brightest of us is bound to fall for an overly manipulated before-and-after photo. Powerhouse Jennifer Smith seemingly got tired of the facade, so she hit us with a dose of reality: before and after pictures taken 15 minutes apart, appearing as though she majorly shed some body fat and magically acquired a six-pack. How did she do it?! According to Smith herself, it’s all about lighting, posture, and a megawatt smile. And that’s it.

Ahhh the power of lighting, body posture, and a good smile! ?????#transformationtuesday #15minuteslater •• ?: @sevanmatossian //@ascudds

A post shared by Jennifer Smith (@jensmith008) on Aug 15, 2017 at 12:55pm PDT

The post quickly went viral, having collected over 13,000 likes and 180 comments at the time of this blog. Words of gratitude poured in from followers thanking Smith for keeping it real and reminding us that we’re all human.

Thankfully, people are catching on and Smith isn’t the only one remaining grounded. Other athletes of all kinds have bravely posted transformation pictures of a different variety, giving us that gentle reminder we all need: you should focus on how you feel instead of being dictated by how you look in a picture and whether or not people online validate you.

9 months and a full weight class later.? I look extremelyyyy critically at my self in the mirror every single day because shredz went #seeyalater until I see my body recomp or lean out a little ahahah, but. Current mood is trying to go from calling myself a fatass to *phatass instead.??? #58kg #63kg #teamWAG #bulklife

A post shared by Sam McEnhill? (@samantha63k) on May 27, 2017 at 10:23am PDT

CrossFit and Olympic weightlifting in particular have done wonders for the self-esteem of women especially, challenging us to run faster or lift heavier instead of obsessing over the much-desired washboard abs. The sports encourage us to care more about what we can do, while forgetting about (or even embracing) the pesky flaws that have always bothered us — because honestly, who cares about those things when you can back squat 200 pounds? (The answer is nobody.)

While it’s alright to admire beautiful bodies on Facebook and Instagram, never lose perspective — what you see isn’t always what’s real.