I hate my body and it's making me depressed

I am concerned by the fact you have written that you eat well. 

Unfortunately there is a lot conflicting information on the internet/ and press which can be very confusing.

Depriving yourself of such a key food group - carbohydrates will cause you many more problems further down the line. It is also another reason why you are feeling lightheaded when exercising. 

Imagine you are driving a car...but you have neglected to put any petrol in. Your car will start making strange noises. Well this is what happens when your body is deprived of such a key food group, it stops working properly. Your sleep will be disrupted, your anxiety levels increase, your period becomes disrupted, you find other systems working less well, e.g. your ability to maintain temperature, concentration.

Carbohydrates (yes this includes sugar), help to regulate your moods and also keep your weight stable and low.

Interestingly you noted that you were feeling depressed. Again, this is common when food groups are cut out. You should also be aware that your body requires a certain number of calories per day in order to function. If you are doing exercise on top of this, then you will need to replace what you have burned.

It may be worth speaking to a trainer at the gym to ensure that you are not overdoing it in terms of exercise, and work out what the best programme might be to help with toning your legs in a safe way.

A lot of people have parts of their bodies they hate, without having an eating disorder. The difference is when the behaviours dominate a person's life / are used as coping mechanisms to deal with difficulties.

You asked a really interesting question. What should I do to slim my legs down without coming ill.

You need to confront why you are doing this in the first place. You have already acknowledged that you are upset with the way your body is.

Definitely speak with your gym as I mentioned above. You don't have to say what you have written, just that you want to make sure you are not overdoing your exercise. You can even maybe highlight that you have a friend who overdid the exercise in the past, and want to make sure you are balanced in it.

I would also suggest keeping a food diary to make sure you are eating enough. Lots of people eat too much so it's helpful for them, but sometimes when there is some anxiety people can eat under. You might find that you can easily fit in another snack, or need to readjust the balance, like sourcing nutrients from pulses, or more fruit or simply need to have more carbs.

If this is increasingly becoming a struggle, and you are finding that the exercise is becoming an issue, and you are compensating in exercise if you are eating more food or still eating too little, then I would definitely see a GP to explain what is going on. There may be a reason why you are finding it difficult.

But let's tackle the first few things first. As I mentioned lots of people have parts of their bodies they dislike without it being an eating disorder.

Hope this is helpful

I know how you feel. I suffer from depression, and a month ago I felt that I do not deserve to eat due to being aggressive towards my family and friends. I am at the stage whereby I do not eat anymore as I am afraid of gaining weight. I eat less than 500 col. a day. I think as long as you eat 3 times a day, include your veg and fruit and exercise moderate, keep your col intake not more than 2000 a day, you will be fine. Walking, rope training and weight lifting to slim down your legs will help.

Good luck!

I've just seen the reply from lindy and they are right to some degree.

However I want to point out some things.

1)Recent research has shown that the average ACTIVE adult female requires nearer to 2300-2500 per day (male 2800-3000). It was a couple if years ago.

2)Try to focus less on calorie counting and more on nutritional balance because 2000 calories of celery per day is still unhealthy for a lot of reasons.

3) If you exercise you need to replace the lost calories

4) Your metabolism will slow down when you eat less than the RDA and don't get enough carbs. This will explain why you aren't losing weight quickly.

5) You should eat regularly as has been said and include carbs at all meals. But also I build in snacks between meals (like banana or cereal bar).

The stabilising of energy will help maintain your weight and stop mood swings unwanted weight spikes and mean that muscle can distribute itself rather than be burned up in replace of the energy stores (which is exceptionally dangerous).

If you need more info google muscles in the body and the heart will come up.

Once my dietitian told me my drop in weight was all muscle and would have come from around my heart. That did scare me.

The above is all fact from my excellent dietitian I had over the last year and I hope is useful.