100 years ago womens’ waists were 10 inches smaller and the average man weighed 21lbs less. Could it be our grandparents had the answer to the obesity epidemic of today? To find out, nine overweight volunteers take part in an experiment that will take them back in time and completely transform them. Over 24 days they compete to lose weight on three different exercise and diet regimes that were popular in the Late Victorian and Edwardian periods and the Twenties. Which plan works best? The Banting diet, first published in 1863; the ‘chew chew’ diet of the early 1900s or the first calorie counting Lulu diet of 1922? By learning the lessons of the past and picking up practical advice from our ancestors’ more successful efforts to stay trim, the volunteers hope to stay slim, look beautiful and lose weight.