Valerie Bertinelli Claps Back at Critics Who 'Sit in Judgment' of Her Figure: 'For the First Time... I Love My Body As It Is'

Valerie Bertinelli has some sharp words for critics of her body.

One day after posting a mirror selfie showing off her body in a two-piece, The Drew Barrymore Show correspondent, 64, responded to people who criticized the photo while opening up about her years-long journey to self-acceptance.

“To all of you that would sit in judgment of my body, the photo, and my reason for posting it, I hope you find a place in your heart to not judge yourself as harshly as you judge others,” she wrote alongside a pair of new mirror selfies on Instagram showing herself posing in a black shirt and ripped jeans with black-rimmed glasses. 

Related: Valerie Bertinelli Posts 'Incredibly Vulnerable' Video: ‘Scary to Share’

“I have dealt with judgment my entire life starting from when I was a young girl,” she continued. “It has taken me a long time to realize that my judgment, with patient discernment, is the only judgment that counts.”

She noted that there are more important things to look at including her “character,” kindness and how she can “change and grow to be the best version” of herself in her body. She also said that while she has “no power over someone else’s judgment," she has “no interest” in it.

“... It’s taken me almost 3 years of emotional labor to get to this point mentally and for the first eight months of this year I had physical setbacks,” she said.

“... For the first time in my life, I love my body as it is,” she explained. “It’s not the 20 year old body that I hated and it really is a shame that I hated that beautiful body. Yes, it was a very different body than the one I now inhabit, but it hadn’t yet been through the journey I needed to go through.

“Even as challenging as it’s been and is, I am grateful for this journey and I wouldn’t trade this body for my 20 year old body any day. Ever,” she concluded, signing off with “XO Valerie” and a peace and heart sign emoji.

Bertinelli has been open about her journey toward body acceptance over the years. The Indulge cookbook author previously told PEOPLE that she has finally learned not to body shame herself.

“I don’t deny myself anything anymore,” she told PEOPLE. "I think what do I want, as opposed to what am I going to eat because I need to be careful about calories. If I want pasta alle vongole, I'm going to make that. And I'm not going to feel one ounce of guilt about it."

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“But I also don't crave things anymore that won't necessarily feed my body all the nutrition that it needs,” she emphasized that it was important to share her story to help others.

“I wanted to share my story because I have built up this amazing community online [she has 1.5 million Instagram followers] where so many people have watched me be super raw on camera and feel everything," she says. "I wanted them to know, ‘Hey, I’ve gotten through this part. I swear it’s going to get better.’"

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