Jessica Upton

My Passion

Nutrition is a fundamental piece to everyday life, as without it, we fail to function.  Nutrition plays a vital role in all aspects of our health affecting both our physical performance and our mental health.  With our nutrition needs changing throughout our lifespan, my passion is to support, motivate and educate clients to allow each individual to flourish to their optimal level.  We are too often faced with a media minefield of mixed dietary messages, meaning it can be hard to understand what dietary advice to follow.  My aim is to provide uncomplicated and evidence-based advice, which is adapted to meet client specific goals. 

My Journey

From as early as I can remember, I was always looking for the next activity, game or sport to compete in.  Competing in sport opened my eyes to the importance of adequate nutrition in order to fuel effectively, and hence my interest and love of nutrition grew.   My Dietetic journey started by completing my bachelor’s degree in Physiology, Sports Science and Nutrition, giving me an enhanced knowledge of sports nutrition.  To enhance my clinical knowledge, I then completed my Postgraduate degree in Nutrition and Dietetics before working for a number of years across a variety of settings in the NHS from paediatrics to geriatrics and everything in-between. Within this role I was able to develop comprehensive behavioural change techniques to guide clients towards dietary changes related to a wide variety of complex medical conditions. After five years in this role, I embarked on a sabbatical working as a Dietitian in Qatar, providing dietary advice for a variety of conditions including weight loss and weight management, bariatric surgery, gastroenterology, disordered eating and sports nutrition.  Whilst working in Qatar I became fascinated with both the surgical and non-surgical treatments for obesity.  Since returning to the UK, I have spent several years specialising in bariatric surgery, both within the private sector, and as the senior specialist bariatric Dietitian within Imperial College London.  My ultimate aim is to help reduce the stigma which surrounds weight, and empower patients to make long term, achievable, and sustainable lifestyle changes.  

Whilst I have a huge interest in bariatric surgery and weight management, I also support clients with the nutritional changes related to eating disorders and gut health conditions including IBS, Coeliac disease and IBD.

Outside of my clinical work, my main passion lays in sports.  As an avid cyclist, runner and previous county tennis player I understand the struggles of balancing everyday life with training and adequate nutrition. Utilising my BSc Hons in Sports nutrition, I have worked with amateur and high-level athletes, to provide practical and sustainable fuelling strategies to enable optimal nutritional intake to ultimately enhance performance.  I am registered Dietitian with the Health & Professionals Council, The British Dietetic Association and a member of the British Dietetic Association Obesity Group, as well as being recognised by most Insurance companies.