Fitness Instagrammer debunks bogus 'before-and-after' photos aimed to sell you diet products

Instagrammar Jessica Pack has been documenting her workout journey on Instagram since June 2015. Judging by her feed, she's a big believer in motivating her followers by showing off photos from before she began working out and getting fit, and what she looks like now.

But one thing she can't stand? Misleading before-and-after pictures, like the type to sell bogus fitness programs and diet pills. So she decided to fight back by showing her 46,000 followers how misleading fitness photography and Instagram can be. We first spotted the photos on BuzzFeed.

"This week I've decided to do the 30 second transformation photo," Pack wrote underneath her picture. "You can show your best angles and hide your flaws, but at the end of the day, what we choose to showcase is a reflection of ourselves."

On the left, Pack shot her 'before' picture with poor posture, pushing out her belly and wearing her swimsuit bottoms adjusted to show her "love handles."

On the right, she's fixed her swimsuit so it flatters her body, adjusted her posture, and lightly flexed her ab muscles.

Even though the pictures were posted less than a minute apart, Pack looks as though she's lost 10 pounds.

"My body isn't perfect," she continued. "I still have imperfections and flaws that I'm slowly learning to be comfortable with. I want to be real and honest and open."

Pack isn't the only fitness Instagrammar showcasing how misleading these pictures can be.

Searching #30secondtransformation on Instagram yields multiple users showing off how easy it is to manipulate their bodies to seem like an infomercial.

And back in 2013, two personal trainers went viral for making their own transformation shots.

First, Andrew Dixon went through his step-by-step guide to making an easy before-and-after picture, and then inspired by Dixon, Australian personal trainer MelVFitness also made her own.

All it took was better posture, some tanning lotion, and flattering black bathing suit bottoms:

Courtesy of MelvFitness

"What a before and after shot doesn't tell you [is] how the person achieved it," MelVFitness wrote on her blog. "It doesn't tell you if they did it a healthy way or if they starved themselves for weeks on end to get there."

Pack agrees with that sentiment, saying though she still hasn't reached her fitness goals, she will keep learning to accept her body and reach her goals healthfully.

"I am not a before picture," Pack concluded. "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."