Quebec woman speaks out after being insulted at weight loss clinic

Marie-AndrePoisson visitedthe Alimentation Revivrede Qubecweight-lossclinic in 2014, when she wasa university student who wanted to shed a few pounds.

She started seeingSuzie Chouinard, the company's owner and one of its "weightloss motivators."

Poisson says she was shocked when Chouinardstarted berating her.

"She told me I was ugly,"Poisson said."She said, 'When I saw you come in, I thought you had a pretty face, but you have a truck for a body."

According to Poisson, the trainer then added, "'How can you have a boyfriend?'"

Chouinard then crafted a diet for her which included almond milk Poisson says she is deathly allergic to almond milk butChouinardtold herit was all in her head.

Radio-Canada reached out toChouinardand her clinic for comment but she declined.

But on herFacebookpage, she made a statement saying: "Customersmay experience some frustration withour approach, as can customers at a gym, acrossfitorspinning class,or other weight-loss clinics."

She said the clinic has customers who are happy with the services she provides.

Other women come forward

Poisson left the weight loss centre and wanted to put the experience behind her until she saw she wasn't the only person who endured abuse there.

In April she read in theJournal de Qubecthata former client was suingChouinard for $325,000. That woman said she was forbidden from consulting a doctor for health concerns and claims she suffered serious physical and psychologicalconsequences after the experience.

After reading that, Poisson posted a Facebook video about her experienceat Alimentation Revivrede Qubec and it has gotten 28,000 views to date.

In the video she says she is so happy to see Chouinardis being sued by another client.

• Obese Canadians share experiences in social media campaign

A history of unhappy clients

The Alimentation Revivre deQubecclinic, located inVal-Blairoutside of Quebec City, and its owner havebeen the subject of complaints in the past.

The College ofPhysiciansandthe College of Dieticians of Quebec(OPDQ) havereceived several complaints against Chouinard since 2008.

"Our tools are still limited. As an order, you cannot go banging on the clinic's door if we think something risky is going on.It's not within our mandate," saidJoanieBouchard, director of professional affairs at theOPDQ.

• Weight controlled by what we put in our mouths, not exercise
• Exercise for weight loss only works to a point