Personal trainer shows why you shouldn't believe everything you see on Instagram

Social media can be a wonderful source of inspiration, no matter what it is you want to do - be it travel, cooking, fashion design or fitness.

But we should also be wary of believing everything we see online, as we don't always know the reality behind a picture.

This is the point one personal trainer has recently highlighted in a powerful post on Instagram.

Georgina Cox took to the platform to share a video, showing how easy it is for fitness accounts to 'fake' a body transformation, using certain angles, items of clothing and lighting techniques.

In the clip, she 'transforms' her body in mere seconds, by pulling her underwear up higher, breathing in and changing the position of her shoulders.

She admitted that she had previously fallen for seemingly "amazing" transformations like this before knowing the truth, and in turn had been left feeling disappointed with her own progress.

Georgina explained: "Be mindful of EVERYTHING you’re consuming!

"When I first started at the gym I followed so many fitness accounts because of their amazing 'transformations'. I believed EVERY WORD because in my mind, pictures don’t lie... right?

"These accounts that were supposed to motivate me, only left me questioning my hard work and resulted in me CONSTANTLY comparing my progress to theirs, trying desperately to achieve what they had.

"Maybe I’m not working hard enough. Maybe I should be eating less. Maybe I should buy those diet pills.

"For years I GENUINELY believed that these two week transformations were real, and they were always paired with a product that helped them 'achieve' this drastic change."

She continued: "It’s so important to be aware of the images you’re consuming and the realities behind them, there are so many factors that can COMPLETELY change how someone looks!

"Posing, angles, lighting and clothing placement will ALL contribute to the many incredible forms of our bodies, but these factors can be used against us.

"The photo version of this video has been used without my knowledge or permission to actually PROMOTE scam products! It breaks my heart to know there may be young women out there believing these products work like I used to, but now it’s from an image of me that is literally 10 SECONDS apart."

Georgina encouraged her followers to focus on their own hard work and stop comparing themselves to others - because what they're seeing might not even be real.

"NEVER let something you see online question your progress, your hard work or your body. Your progress is your own and you should be your ONLY comparison," she said.

"Your physical and mental health deserve so much MORE than a quick fix, don’t let anyone convince you otherwise.

"Endeavour to fill your feed with accounts that genuinely motivate you, inspire you and empower you to be the best version of YOU, not someone else."

Thousands of people liked and commented on her viral post, with many praising her for sharing it.

One person replied: "Oh my god thank you so much for this post you absolute queen! It's so important to remind ourselves not to believe everything we see on social media and that our bodies are ALWAYS worthy and always good enough!"

Another wrote: "So so so important!"

A third added: "FINALLY someone revealing this."