‘I don’t care what you think’

Valerie Bertinelli is known for her vulnerability — and clapbacks — and now, the chef is cooking up a combo of both.

On Monday, she took to Instagram to post a mirror picture in bikini, writing in the caption that though she plans to “talk about the madness my body has been through this year,” she’s finding gratitude in herself exactly how she is.

“But right now every lump bump wrinkle and saggy part of me just feels acceptance and simple appreciation to be standing in front of a mirror in a hotel bathroom in downtown Manhattan ready to color my roots late on a Monday night,” she continued.

But Bertinelli didn’t hesitate to slam critics of her revealing photo in a follow-up post Tuesday, telling fans “I don’t care what you think.”

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“For the first time in my life, I love my body as it is. It’s not the 20 year old body that I hated and it really is a shame that I hated that beautiful body,” she wrote, telling fans that “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,” Bertinelli added.

She addressed her note to her 1.6 million followers on Instagram, saying that “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.”

In recent months, Bertinelli has opened up about her body and self-care journey.

The former Food Network star opened up about her personal journey with body standards in an Instagram post in February.

“This is a 150lb body on a 5’4 frame. I don’t weigh myself anymore because this is considered overweight by who’s standards I don’t know. It’s stupid and I believed them for far too long. I now, finally, know that I am a kind, considerate, funny, thoughtful woman,” Bertinelli captioned the post at the time.

“So please remember, who you are and what your character is, should never be overshadowed by what size you are or how much you weigh. You are enough. Just the way you are,” she continued.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Valerie Bertinelli defends posting bikini photo