Slimming World – January-February 2026

Summary

Slimming World January/February 2026 (Issue 191) kicks off the new year with Eleanor's 6st 4lb loss on the cover — "How mum-of-three Eleanor lost 6st 4lbs" — and the tagline "Your fresh start — Make losing weight taste great!" The issue features a 7-day mix-and-match menu, an air fryer advice article, a walking plan, and recipes including cheesy egg bagels, ultimate katsu curry, and pistachio tiramisu pots.

The "Up Front" section (p.11-36) opens with green goddess loaded chips (p.11), Kelly Yates' 9st 6lb loss (p.12), a weight-loss fact-versus-fiction feature (p.18), the mix-and-match meal plan (p.22), Jessica Gabb's story (p.30), feelgood fixes (p.34), and Eleanor's feature (p.36). "Food for Real Life" (p.44-77) is dominated by curries (p.44), food news (p.55), an air fryer Q&A (p.60), Carlos Grant's jerk chicken story (p.64), cheesy egg bagels (p.72), baked Alaska (p.74), and time-saving recipes (p.77).

"Healthier, Happier You" (p.86-112) includes a "life-proof your weight loss" feature (p.86), Kevin Bunda's new confidence story (p.92), a walking fitness plan (p.98), bowel health advice (p.105), an inner-rebel psychology piece (p.108), and a shared-weight-loss-journey story featuring Anne Clarke and Sam Monk (p.112). The issue is weighted toward New Year motivation, with practical tools for members who have gained over Christmas.

—————

Content Guide

▸ Cover Story

p.36 · How Eleanor Made It Happen
Mum of three Eleanor lost 6st 4lb (40kg) in her 20s, proving that age is not a barrier to significant weight loss. She describes the specific trigger: a photo from a family day out where she avoided the camera entirely. Her maintenance strategy is a non-negotiable weekly weigh-in at group.

▸ New Year Tools

p.98 · Walk Your Way to Fitness
A 12-week walking plan progressing from 10 minutes daily to 60 minutes. Each week adds either duration, intensity (hills), or frequency. The plan includes a tracking table and a "walking meeting" suggestion for group members. The minimum barrier — a pair of shoes — makes this the issue's most inclusive fitness feature.

p.86 · Life-Proof Your Weight Loss
A feature on handling life events without abandoning weight loss: holidays, illness, family crises, and work stress. The article provides a "red-yellow-green" traffic-light system for assessing current risk and a pre-prepared crisis menu of 5 Free Food meals that can be made from store-cupboard ingredients.

▸ Recipes

p.44 · The Joy of…Curries
A 10-page curry feature with 8 recipes including katsu curry, lamb rogan josh, chicken tikka masala, and a vegetable korma. Each recipe includes Syn values, with the chicken tikka masala at just 1 Syn per serving. The spice-grind guide teaches members to toast and grind whole spices for flavour without added fat.

p.72 · Cheesy Egg Bagel
A single-recipe page for a microwave breakfast bagel: one wholemeal bagel, one egg, reduced-fat cheddar, and ham. Total Syn value is 2½ including the bagel as a Healthy Extra B. Ready in 3 minutes, it targets the member who says "I don't have time for breakfast."

p.108 · Is Your Inner Rebel Stopping Your Weight Loss?
A psychology feature on the "inner rebel" — the voice that resists being told what to eat. The article reframes rebellion as a sign of autonomy rather than failure and offers three "rebel-friendly" strategies: scheduled off-plan meals, food choices within structure, and permission to break rules consciously.

—————

Editor's Take

The New Year issue does what it needs to do — provide fresh-start motivation with practical tools. The walking plan is the issue's strongest feature because it is measurable, progressive, and requires zero equipment. The "Life-Proof Your Weight Loss" traffic-light system is a genuinely useful framework that members can apply to any life event. The weakness is that the curry feature is largely recycled from the March/April 2025 issue with minor recipe modifications. The "inner rebel" psychology piece is interesting conceptually but offers no research basis for its claims. Also, the bowel health article (p.105) seems randomly placed — it is not connected to any other content in the issue. As a New Year starter pack, this is functional but not exceptional.

Strengths
• 12-week walking plan is measurable and equipment-free
• Life-proof weight loss feature provides a traffic-light system
• Curry recipes are genuinely low-Syn and satisfying

Weaknesses
• Curry feature recycles content from the previous year
• Bowel health article feels randomly placed

Verdict: Recommended — A functional New Year issue with a strong walking plan and life-proofing framework, but some features show their age.