On Sunday, actor Taapsee Pannu spoke out against the unrealistic pursuit of a flat belly by some women, urging them to avoid subjecting themselves to extreme measures.

The 38-year-old, last seen in Assi, shared a series of videos on Instagram Stories, opening up about her own experience and past obsession with achieving a flat midriff.

“While growing up, I was extremely fit, but I never understood why the lower belly fat always stayed. I worked out intensely almost to an extent that I overpushed myself... and when you overpush yourself, it rings an alarm in your brain that your body needs protection. So instead of actually losing water retention, the body starts retaining it, and then that lower belly fat stays,” she shared.

Taapsee went on to explain that a flat midriff isn’t something one can, or expect to, maintain at all times because a woman’s body goes through several hormonal changes.

She continued, “I accepted it very late after really torturing myself... My nutritionist Munmun Ganeriwal explained to me how it’s actually important to have that little bit of fat and water retention under the belly because that’s where your reproductive organs are, and they need protection, and by virtue of being a woman, you need that protection.”

She advised: “Just to get those perfect Instagram pictures, please don’t torture yourself.”