Danica Patrick Posts an Unfiltered Photo of Her Abs to Fight Body Shaming

NASCAR driver Danica Patrick is working to combat body shaming by getting real about the process behind fitness photos.

Alongside side-by-side shots of her toned torso—taken at different angles and in different lighting—the 35-year-old wrote, “I kinda love when people do real vs produced shots.”

“The difference between the two is lighting, pose, and clothes adjustments,” Patrick explained.

She continued, “We all want to look our best at all times, no shame in that. But don’t let someone else’s body put yours down. Use it for motivation.”

Patrick encouraged her followers to “be the best you,” and treat their bodies with “respect.”

“It’s the one and only thing we own for life,” she said.

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Patrick’s public cry for a healthy approach to body image comes ahead of the release of her new diet and exercise book, Pretty Intense: The 90-Day Mind, Body and Food Plan that will absolutely Change Your Life, due out in December of this year.

Sharing the cover on Instagram earlier this month, Patrick wrote that the book includes “3 parts mental/physical (with 12 week workout program that I wrote and tested)/food (along with 50 recipes written and photographed by me).”

“It’s all the things I have learned though growth in the mind and body,” she explained.

She also shared the raw images from her cover shoot on the site, revealing that the final pictures underwent “minimal retouching.”

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“Many of you thought it was highly retouched and the main thing they do is even out the skin tone, mostly on the legs,” she said. “I worked very hard. Anyone can be lean and muscular if they want to…..but you have to put in the work and learn how to eat right. It’s all possible, believe in yourself.”