Valerie Bertinelli defends herself against critics who condemn her body

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

A day after she posted a mirror selfie showing off her body in a two-piece, The Drew Barrymore Show The 64-year-old correspondent responded to people who criticized the photo and spoke about her years-long journey to self-acceptance.

“To everyone who judges my body, the photo and the reason for posting it: I hope you find a place in your heart where you don’t judge yourself as harshly as you judge others,” she wrote alongside a pair from new mirror selfies on Instagram that show her posing in a black shirt and ripped jeans with black glasses.

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

She noted that there are more important things to pay attention to, including her “character,” her kindness, and how she can “change and grow into the best version” of herself in her body. She also said that while she has “no power over the judgment of others,” she has “no interest” in it.

“…It took me almost three years of emotional work to get to this point mentally, and I had physical setbacks in the first eight months of this year,” she said.

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

“As challenging as it was and is, I am grateful for this journey and would never trade this body for my 20-year-old body. Always,” she concluded, signing off with “XO Valerie” and a peace and heart sign emoji.

Bertinelli has spoken openly about her journey to body acceptance over the years. The Indulge The cookbook author previously told PEOPLE that she’s finally learned not to shame herself.

“I don’t deny myself anything anymore,” she told PEOPLE. “I think, what do I want versus what am I going to eat because I have to watch the calories. If I want pasta, I’ll do it. And I won’t feel like it.” I feel a little guilty.

“But I also no longer crave things that don’t necessarily give my body all the nutrients it needs,” she said, emphasizing that it’s important to share her story to help others.

“I wanted to share my story because I’ve built this amazing community online (she has 1.5 million Instagram followers) where so many people have seen me being super raw in front of the camera and feeling everything,” she says. “I wanted them to know. ‘Hey, I did this part.'” I swear it gets better.'”

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