Kelsey Wells' Before-and-After Photo Shows How She Stopped Feeling Self-Conscious About Her Muscular Body

One of our favorite fitness influencers just shared inspiring words about her relationship with her body. On Saturday, personal trainer Kelsey Wells posted a side-by-side photo with a caption about how she's embraced her muscular figure.

"The first time I saw a photo of myself flexing like this (years ago when I first began consistently exercising) my first reaction was not kind. I felt uncomfortable and my automatic mental response was to feel self conscious of my legs," she wrote, later adding, "I just wanted to be thin."

Most of Wells' social media content includes videos of her routines (check out her six butt-sculpting exercises here), before-and-after snaps of people doing her PWR program, and photos with her family. In this post, however, she talked about how far she's come since the days when she dreamed of being thin.

Calling herself a "glass half full person," she said she's been encouraged by other strong women who have filled her Instagram feed with positive messages about self-love. "I am proud that I have unlearned the destructive body image narrative that was [ingrained] in me for so long," she continued. "And I am proud to now help change the societal narrative from the one I grew up with to one of SELF LOVE."

For Wells, it was all about adjusting her mindset. "Now I look at my legs with gratitude—bruises and scars and stretch marks and all," she said. "And I'm damn proud of the muscle I've built."

This is not the first time she's spoken out about loving her muscles. Last September, she clapped back at commenters who called her "manly."

"THE ONLY THING A WOMAN NEEDS TO DO TO BE BEAUTIFUL AND FEMININE IS TO BE HERSELF," Wells proclaimed in the post. "I feel most beautiful when I'm gross and sweaty in the gym when I'm pushing myself in my training, and even more so as I'm wrestling on the floor with my son or any time I'm looking into that little face and teaching him about his world."