The things people actually want to know before they book: what a Registered Dietitian is, how a first session goes, how virtual works, confidentiality, cost, and what to do in a crisis. If yours is not here, you are welcome to just ask on a free intro call.
This is a longer, plainer version of the questions people ask before they book. It is written to answer them, not to sell anything, so where a fuller explanation lives elsewhere on this site it is linked rather than repeated. Most of it is general information. If your question is not here, you are always welcome to ask on a free introductory call, which costs nothing and comes with no pressure to continue.
In Ontario, Registered Dietitian and RD are protected titles. Only someone registered with the College of Dietitians of Ontario may use them, which means real education, supervised practice, a code of ethics, and a public complaints process sit behind the name. Nutritionist is not a regulated title here, so anyone may use it regardless of training, and that distinction is worth knowing about any practitioner, not just Lauren. Lauren Hofstee is a Registered Dietitian with the College of Dietitians of Ontario, with a Master of Applied Nutrition from the University of Guelph, and more than four years working specifically in eating disorder recovery. There is a fuller account of her training on the about page, and a plain walkthrough of the dietitian and nutritionist difference in the guide to finding an eating disorder dietitian in Ontario.
You do not have to take anyone's word for a credential, including Lauren's. The College of Dietitians of Ontario keeps a public register of its members and makes it available to anyone. It shows registration status, category, and any restrictions or discipline history. Search the last name Hofstee and you will find one entry. Looking up any dietitian you are considering is reasonable, and it takes about a minute. There is a short journal piece on how to check if a dietitian is registered in Ontario if you want the steps. Lauren's registration number also appears on the receipts she issues, which is what an insurer needs.
Non-diet and weight-inclusive is not a slogan, it is how sessions run. The work is not organized around weight loss or food rules: no diets, no meal plans built on restriction, and no judgment about how you are eating now. The goal is a calmer, more trusting relationship with food and your body, and the freedom that comes back with it, rather than a smaller body. Depending on where you are, that might mean eating more regularly and adequately again, gently loosening food rules, making sense of hunger and fullness after years of ignoring them, or slowly taking the fear and the morality out of eating. For recovery this is widely considered the safer and more effective approach, because prescribing restriction or centring weight can quietly reinforce the very thing you are trying to recover from. The journal explains what weight-inclusive care is and how gentle nutrition works.
It is worth being clear about the flip side, because non-diet is sometimes misread as anything goes. It does not mean nutrition stops mattering, or that there is no structure. For someone who has been undereating, much of early recovery is eating more and more regularly, which is the opposite of loosening everything. It does not mean weight is ignored as a medical matter, only that weight loss is never the goal of the work. And it is not a promise that recovery will be easy or linear. Progress is rarely a straight line, which is normal and not a failure.
Before any paid session there is a free introductory call: a relaxed conversation, not an assessment, with nothing to prepare, to see whether working together feels right. It is completely fine to decide it does not. A first full session after that is mostly listening: your history with food and body, what is hard right now, what you are hoping for, and, if you have a therapist or family doctor, how Lauren can work alongside them. There is no weigh-in and no food diary handed to you at the door. The journal has walkthroughs of what happens in a first dietitian session and what a free intro call is actually like.
The work does not only happen in the room, but it also does not follow you home as a strict plan. Between sessions the point is usually small, doable experiments, and often just noticing, without having to fix anything yet. There is no homework you can fail. If something did not go the way you hoped between one session and the next, that is information to bring back, not a reason to feel you have let anyone down. Detailed personal health information is kept out of ordinary email, so between-session contact stays light by design.
The honest answer is that it depends, and it would be misleading to quote an average. Some people come for a short, focused stretch around one specific struggle. Others work together over a longer period, because recovery is rarely quick and rarely linear. How often you meet, weekly, every couple of weeks, or spaced further out, is decided together and can change as things shift. There is no set number of sessions you have to commit to, and the question is discussed plainly in the journal piece on how often you should see a dietitian.
No. You can reach out directly and start with a free introductory call, and nothing has to come through a physician first. Clinicians are also welcome to refer a patient through the clinician referral pathway, which some prefer. The one place a referral can matter is your insurance: some extended health plans ask for a doctor's note before they will reimburse dietitian fees, which is a separate thing from needing a referral to book. There is more in the journal piece on whether you need a referral to see a dietitian in Ontario.
You do not need a therapist or a treatment team already in place to start. Many people begin with a dietitian and nothing else, and nutrition support can stand on its own. It can also be one part of a team, which is often how eating disorder recovery works best. If a situation needs more than nutrition care can safely hold, for example medical monitoring, bloodwork, or the psychological side of recovery, Lauren will say so plainly and help you think about who else to bring in, rather than carry something that belongs with a physician or a psychotherapist. The difference between the two roles is explained in the journal piece on a dietitian versus a therapist for eating.
Every session is held online by secure video, so you can meet from anywhere in Ontario with no commute and no waiting room. You need a private space where you can talk freely and a reasonable internet connection. Because care is virtual, you are not limited to dietitians who practise in your own town, which matters most in smaller communities and in the north. There are pages for individual communities under locations across Ontario. Virtual care is genuinely effective for nutrition counselling, explained in the guide to how virtual nutrition counselling works and the journal piece on whether a virtual dietitian is as effective as in person. What it is not is a substitute for medical oversight, which belongs with your doctor.
What you say is kept confidential. As a regulated health professional, Lauren is held to the College's standards and to Ontario's health privacy law, so your information is not passed on without your consent, within the usual legal and professional limits that apply to every regulated clinician. If she works alongside your therapist or family doctor, that only happens with your permission, so your care stays connected without anything moving behind your back. Detailed personal health information is deliberately kept out of ordinary email. There is a fuller answer in the journal piece on whether what you tell a dietitian is confidential. There are also no client testimonials anywhere on this site, by choice, because recovery is private.
Waitlists for publicly funded eating disorder programs in Ontario can be long, and the wait does not have to be empty time. Some people use it to begin nutrition work privately so they are not standing still, and some use it to line up the rest of a team. There is a free guide to eating disorder support across Ontario, listing community groups, help lines, and publicly funded programs, each verified from the organization's own website, and a journal piece written specifically about what to do while you wait for an eating disorder program in Ontario. The full, region-by-region list of the hospital programs themselves, with who each one takes and how to get referred, is on the publicly funded eating disorder programs in Ontario page.
Being honest about this saves everyone time. If what you need most right now is the psychological side of recovery, that belongs with a psychotherapist or psychologist, and Lauren is glad to work alongside one rather than in place of one. If you are medically unstable, that belongs with a physician, in person, and should come first. If you are looking for a weight-loss plan, a detox, or a restrictive meal plan, this is not that practice, and that is a deliberate choice. And if you live outside Ontario, she is not able to take you on, because her registration is with the College of Dietitians of Ontario only. If someone else is a better match, that is a good outcome, and the guide to finding and choosing an eating disorder dietitian is written to help.
The first step is always a free introductory call, which you can book online or by phone, with no pressure to continue. Cost is discussed openly on that call, so you have the full picture before deciding anything, and how fees, receipts, OHIP, and extended health benefits work in Ontario is explained in the guide to what a dietitian costs in Ontario. Good questions to bring to a first call are gathered in the journal piece on questions to ask a dietitian before you start. To begin, book the free call, or phone (226) 407-8455.
A dietitian is not crisis support, and it is important to say so plainly. If you are in immediate danger or medically unstable, contact your local emergency service right away. For urgent help and someone to talk to, the guide to eating disorder support across Ontario lists real, verified help lines, including the NEDIC helpline and ConnexOntario, alongside community and publicly funded programs. Reaching for one of those in a hard moment is a reasonable and good thing to do.
No. You can reach out directly and start with a free introductory call, and nothing has to come through a physician first. Some extended health plans ask for a doctor's note before they will reimburse dietitian fees, which is separate from needing a referral to book, so it is worth checking your own plan. Clinicians are also welcome to refer through the referral pathway.
Yes. Lauren Hofstee is a Registered Dietitian registered with the College of Dietitians of Ontario, with a Master of Applied Nutrition from the University of Guelph. Registered Dietitian and RD are protected titles in Ontario, and you can confirm any credential yourself. Search the College of Dietitians of Ontario public register, look up the last name Hofstee, and it takes about a minute.
It means the work is not organized around weight loss or food rules. There are no diets, no meal plans built on restriction, and no judgment about how you eat now. The goal is a calmer, more trusting relationship with food and your body rather than a smaller body. For eating disorder recovery this approach is widely considered the safer one, because prescribing restriction or centring weight can reinforce the disorder.
Before any paid session there is a free introductory call, a relaxed conversation with nothing to prepare, to see whether working together feels right. A first full session is mostly listening: your history with food and body, what is hard right now, what you are hoping for, and how Lauren can work alongside your therapist or doctor if you have them. You are never asked to share more than you want to.
Yes. Every session is held online by secure video, so you can meet from anywhere in Ontario with no commute and no waiting room. You need a private space and an internet connection. Virtual care is genuinely effective for nutrition counselling, though it is not a substitute for medical monitoring, which belongs with your doctor in person.
Everywhere in the province. Because care is virtual, Lauren works with clients right across Ontario, from the major cities to small towns and the north, which matters most where an eating disorder dietitian can be hours away in person. She is registered with the College of Dietitians of Ontario only, so she does not take clients living in other provinces.
Yes. What you share is kept confidential and is not passed on without your consent, within the usual legal and professional limits that apply to all regulated health professionals in Ontario. If Lauren works alongside your therapist or doctor, that happens with your permission so your care stays connected. Detailed personal health information is kept out of ordinary email for the same reason.
Waitlists for publicly funded eating disorder programs can be long, and the wait does not have to be empty. Some people use that time to begin nutrition work privately, so they are not standing still. There is also a free guide on this site to eating disorder support across Ontario, with community groups, help lines, and publicly funded programs, each verified from the organization's own website.
The first step is a free introductory call, which you can book online or by calling the practice line, and there is no pressure to continue. Cost is discussed openly on that call, so you have the full picture before deciding anything. How fees, receipts, OHIP, and extended health benefits work in Ontario is explained plainly in the separate guide to what a dietitian costs in Ontario.
If you are in immediate danger or medically unstable, contact your local emergency service right away. A dietitian is not crisis support. For urgent help and someone to talk to, the guide to eating disorder support across Ontario lists real, verified help lines, including the NEDIC helpline and ConnexOntario, alongside community and publicly funded programs.
Reviewed 2026-08-01. This page is general information about working with a dietitian in Ontario, not medical, financial, or tax advice. Registration status is something you can and should confirm yourself on the College of Dietitians of Ontario public register, which the College keeps current.
If something here is out of date or unclear, please write to laurenhofstee.rd@gmail.com and it will be corrected. There is nothing to sign up for.
Lauren Hofstee is a Registered Dietitian with the College of Dietitians of Ontario, specializing in eating disorder recovery, offering virtual, non-diet nutrition counselling across Ontario. The first call is free, and there is no pressure to continue.
Book a free intro callNew to this? Start with the guide to finding an eating disorder dietitian in Ontario. Weighing the cost? See what a dietitian costs in Ontario. Looking for free and community options? See eating disorder support across Ontario.