March 2012
October 2013 Photo (c) Chris O'Donovan
Name: Kate Harrison
Age: 45
Occupation: Writer
Where do you live? Brighton, UK
Diet history: I've been dieting on and off for more than 20 years, all my adult life. My weight's varied by two and a half stone. Most successful was veggie low-carbing, but it just wasn't sustainable as I love baking. By the summer of 2012, I'd pretty much given up.
Name: Fiona Maclean
Age: 52
Occupation: Marketing consultant & food writer
Where do you live? London
Diet history: I do a lot of restaurant reviews and eat out far too much. My Dad and Uncle both had heart attacks and my Mum had diabetes. And I’d put on a lot of weight! I’m only 156cm (5 feet 1 ½ and weighed 72kg (159 lb) when I started 5:2 (ouch!).
December 2005
April 2013
Name: Simone Baker
Age: 50
Occupation: I worked as a secretary and then helped to set up a national charity, but I haven't worked since 2002 following a serious road accident.
Where do you live? Reading
Diet history: I have always been overweight, since the age of nine. My mother took the drug Thalidomide during pregnancy, which affected the development of my arms and legs, so they are shortened and I have fingers and a thumb missing from both hands. My weight continued to increase once I got married and had my daughter, Lois. Then I was involved in a really bad car crash in 2002 and sustained a serious injury that further reduced my already very limited mobility and my weight increased further. I'd had many other (failed) attempts at losing weight by attending diet classes, but I'd get fed up or bored and would put all the weight back on and some more!