What is a Dietitian?
A Dietitian is a specialist in understanding nutrition, trained to at least degree-level. They apply current public health and scientific research on food, health and disease to support and guide people with their own nutritional health. Their specialist training enables them to be regulated by the Health Care Professions Council which is not the case for many people trained more generally in nutrition.
Dietitians are not "the food police”! They take a holistic and realistic approach, providing individualised care and promoting food freedom. Food freedom is about having a flexible approach to eating whilst being mindful, listening to your body and enjoying all foods without strict rules or guilt.
Our Dietitians specialise in weight management and bariatric surgery, each with at least 10 years experience in this field, including within the NHS in specialist weight management and bariatric surgery units. They are an integral member of, and work closely with our multi-disciplinary team which includes Psychologists, Surgeons, an Endocrinologist and Pharmacist, to provide you with the highest quality care.
Why see a Dietitian for Weight Management?
If you struggle with your weight, the chances are you will have tried dieting a number of times. Research has found that weight regain after a period of dieting is very normal. This is why working with a specialist Dietitian is crucial for understanding your relationship with food, and how best to make change.
Eating behaviours and nutrition are central to your success with our treatments and so to help you get the best outcome, our Dietitians play a key part in all of our care packages such as weight loss medication and surgery.
What to expect in a dietetic appointment?
The initial appointment takes the form of an assessment. The purpose of this is to explore and get a baseline of your nutritional health, dietary intake and relationship with food and drink and to identify potential risks to help your informed consent for the treatments we offer.
Our Dietitians will tailor the assessment to you and work holistically and non-judgmentally to understand your:
- goals, expectations and motivations
- medical history, including medications and self-prescribed supplements
- relationships
- mood and how this impacts on food
- how you spend your time
- weight history
- nutritional intake including eating and drinking preferences, patterns, and behaviours.
They may also ask you about your bowel habits as this closely relates to diet and wellbeing. Our Dietitians act with respect and sensitivity as they know that some conversations can be very personal and emotive.
Our Dietitians will work with you to identify if there are any areas that can be improved to optimise your wellness as well as highlighting and reassuring you with what’s going well. Where appropriate, they will guide and support you to make achievable and sustainable changes.
Subsequent appointments happen in the form of reviews. We know that "one size does not fit all” so our Dietitians take an individualised approach and will be led by your needs, reviewing what may have changed since your previous appointment and providing further information, support and guidance. This is alongside checking some essential information to ensure you are safe and help you be nutritionally well.
After weight loss surgery, a review is likely to cover:
- Vitamin and mineral supplementation
- Nutritional blood tests
- An update on medical conditions and medications
- Food intake (including eating pattern, portion sizes, nutritional intake, eating behaviours)
- Fluid intake (including type, timing and volume)
- Bowel movements
- Psychological health
If you are taking weight loss medication, having support from one of our Dietitians will help you to manage any symptoms in the early stages and then explore what food works best for you so that you can make the most of this effective intervention.
Our Dietitians aim for a high-quality experience, to empower you and give you the confidence to manage your nutritional wellness for life.
Alongside dietetic appointments within our standard packages of care, we can offer individualised dietetic care packages, one off dietetic appointments or annual dietetic appointments. You may also want to include psychological support from one of our clinical psychologists to help to working in more detail with emotional eating, binge eating or adjustment after significant weight loss.
Are there any other conditions/situations the Dietitians can help me with?
Absolutely! Our Dietitians are very experienced in a wide range of health conditions. They also have specialist training and expertise in:
- Women's Health
- Fertility
- Sports Nutrition
These are all issues that have a significant impact on weight management and so working with clinicians who are specialist in these areas will help you to understand how to balance the different needs that you have.
How can I book to see a Dietitian?
You can find out more about our dietitians and contact us to book an appointment.
Or send us a message