Kristin Cavallari says she celebrated her weight gain on Instagram to fight 'warped' ideas about body image

• Kristin Cavallari says she celebrated her weight gain to fight "warped" ideas about body image.
• The "Laguna Beach" star says she's proud of her body after working hard to add pounds of muscle.

Kristin Cavallari shared why she posted about gaining weight on social media in an interview with Insider.

"I am 35, I'm a mom to three kids," Cavallari said. "That doesn't mean that I can't show off my body and be proud of it. I've gained a lot of muscle weight. I work really hard on my body and I think that's something to celebrate, not something to be ashamed of."

The former "Laguna Beach" star showed off her gains in her glutes by posting a snap of herself in a black bikini on her Instagram page. In the post, Cavallari also shared earlier photos of herself at a time during which she said she had lost a significant amount of weight due to stress. She added in her caption that she didn't "even recognize the girl in those other 2 photos."

Speaking to Insider, Cavallari said she posted the photos to combat the focus on social media around losing weight.

"I also think there need to be more conversations around gaining weight rather than everyone always trying to be so thin," she said.

"I have a daughter and I think it's very difficult now for everybody, but especially girls growing up and looking at social media. This idea of body image is just so warped," she went on. "And I just worry about these young girls and so I think it just needs to be a bigger conversation about being OK gaining weight and not focusing on a number on the scale."

Cavallari has three children with her ex-husband Jay Cutler: sons Camden Jack, 9, and Jaxon Wyatt, 8, as well as daughter Saylor James, 6.

Cavallari says she's determined to show her children the difference between what's real and what's fake online in a world where filters, advertisements, photo angles, and other tools can augment anyone's perceptions.

"Because I'm in the press, it's allowed me these opportunities to have these real conversations with my kids. When, if I wasn't, I probably wouldn't have had these conversations yet, but they see firsthand how not everything on the internet or on TV is real," she said.

"I'm able to start laying the groundwork now when they're so young. I think actually my kids have a pretty good grasp on social media, the internet TV, I think, I think that is a very good thing," she added.

Cavallari will be showing fans what was real and fake on "Laguna Beach" on her new Dear Media podcast "Back to the Beach with Kristin and Stephen." The show will feature her and her ex-boyfriend and good friend Stephen Colletti breaking down each episode of the early oughts MTV docuseries that propelled them to fame as teenagers.

See the trailer below.