A woman who developed anorexia after obsessing over stick-thin celebrities has beaten the illness - by being crowned Miss Toned Figure in a  bodybuilding tournament. Charlotte MacGill, 26, from Bolton, Greater Manchester, would pore over pictures of painfully thin models and celebrities such as Victoria Beckham. She would then starve herself and exercise to excess in a bid for an elusive 'thigh-gap'. But as her weight dropped below eight stone, her health deteriorated. She became depressed and suffered skin problems, thinning hair and bad breath. It was only when she started a job as a physiotherapist and took up weight training that she managed to turn her life around.
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Charlotte Mac Gill, 26, dieted and exercised to excess wanting to be thin
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She weighed under 8st, her health deteriorated and she became depressed
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Working as a physiotherapist and bodybuilding helped her beat anorexia
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She has now been crowned Miss Toned Figure in bodybuilding competition
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Hopes her story will inspire others to try to be toned and healthy not skinny
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An earlier version of this article wrongly suggested that Charlotte MacGill had won the “Miss Universe” competition, which is run by Miss Universe LP, LLLP, not the NABBA.
Both plan to compete next year to add to the regional, national and globlal titles Ms @placeholder has already won