Joanie · Fitness and weight

The guide to feeling stronger.

Understand your body. Choose your habits. Move with confidence.

Losing weight, losing belly fat, eating well when you train, building muscle, working on mobility, getting back in shape at menopause or after 40: these guides say what the research shows, with no promise of pounds, and how Joanie Roussy's women's classes, at noon on Nuns' Island, help you take action.

Woman sitting on the floor in training clothes, in the light of a window

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All the guides
Woman in training clothes, in profile, in the light of a windowWeight and activityLosing weight after 40Your metabolism does not collapse: muscle is what declines. What to aim for each week.Read the guide EatingEating to lose weight: the basicsThe Food Guide plate, water, how you eat, and why no single diet wins.Read the guide Muscles and mobilityBuild muscle and lose fat: body recompositionWhat research shows, why muscle matters for women, and how much strength training to aim for each week.Read the guide

Three themes

01Weight and activity

Eight questions, eight guides

Each guide starts from a question people type into a search engine — losing weight, fast or for good, for women, at menopause or after 40; losing belly fat; the best exercises; choosing a program — and answers it with its sources: Obesity Canada, the American College of Sports Medicine, the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines, the Compendium of Physical Activities. Their author, Joanie Roussy, is a certified NOOM coach and a certified Strong Nation™, Zumba®, Zumbini® and CIRCL Mobility™ instructor.

02Eating when you train

Five questions about your plate

The basics of Canada's Food Guide, protein, intermittent fasting, fad diets and supplements: these guides sum up what Health Canada, Obesity Canada and other recognized sources say. Joanie is not a registered dietitian, and every guide refers you to a registered dietitian for an eating plan.

03Muscles and mobility

Eight questions about muscle

Body recomposition, the psoas, the legs, the glutes, the abs, the shoulders and arms, the back, cramps and mobility: these guides explain what the muscles do and how to look after them, based on anatomy and sports medicine references, with exercises and stretches from medical sources and their precautions.

All the guides

21 guides
  1. 01Losing weight: what actually worksHabits first, what activity does and does not do, your plate, and fixed appointments to keep going.Weight and activity
  2. 02Losing weight fast? What is possible, what is riskyWhat you lose in the first days, why experts advise going slower, and the promises to avoid.Weight and activity
  3. 03Losing belly fat: abdominal and visceral fatWhy sit-ups alone are not enough, what reduces visceral fat, and where to move around the island.Weight and activity
  4. 04The best exercises to lose weight, with the calculatorWalking, running, cycling, Zumba®, intervals or karate: what the Compendium lists for each, and how to choose.Weight and activity
  5. 05Choosing a weight-loss programWhat a serious program includes, the red flags, and a sample week based on the Canadian guidelines.Weight and activity
  6. 06Weight loss for womenWhat changes over the years, cardio and strength training, and Joanie Roussy's women's classes.Weight and activity
  7. 07Menopause: weight, belly and activityWhat really changes around menopause, what cardio and strength training do, and the noon classes.Weight and activity
  8. 08Losing weight after 40Your metabolism does not collapse: muscle is what declines. What to aim for each week.Weight and activity
  9. 09Eating to lose weight: the basicsThe Food Guide plate, water, how you eat, and why no single diet wins.Eating
  10. 10Protein and trainingThe protein quarter of the plate, the sports nutrition benchmark for active people, and where powders fit.Eating
  11. 11Intermittent fasting: what studies showWhat Obesity Canada and the 2026 Cochrane review conclude, and who it is not suitable for.Eating
  12. 12Keto, 1,200 calories, juice cleansesWhat recognized sources say, what a lack of energy costs athletes, and what you can keep up.Eating
  13. 13Fat burners, supplements, injectionsWhat Health Canada says, how to check a product, injections, and what creatine really does.Eating
  14. 14Build muscle and lose fat: body recompositionWhat research shows, why muscle matters for women, and how much strength training to aim for each week.Muscles and mobility
  15. 15Psoas and hip flexorsThe psoas, iliacus, rectus femoris and piriformis: what they do, and two stretches.Muscles and mobility
  16. 16Leg muscles: quads, hamstrings, calvesWhat the leg muscles do, three simple exercises and three stretches.Muscles and mobility
  17. 17Glutes: muscles, exercises, stretchesThe three glutes, the glute bridge and two more exercises, and a buttock stretch.Muscles and mobility
  18. 18Abs and coreThe five abdominal muscles, why a strong core matters, and two simple exercises.Muscles and mobility
  19. 19Shoulders and armsThe deltoid, rotator cuff, biceps and triceps, and three simple exercises.Muscles and mobility
  20. 20Back musclesThree layers of muscle, what they do, and a short routine on the floor and on a chair.Muscles and mobility
  21. 21Cramps, soreness and mobilityCramp or soreness, what helps, what foam rolling is worth, and CIRCL Mobility™.Muscles and mobility

Good to know. These guides inform; they do not replace your doctor's advice. For a weight goal or an eating plan, talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian. To find one, see the Ordre des diététistes-nutritionnistes du Québec directory (in French). If you have an injury, pain, a health condition or are pregnant, talk to a physiotherapist or your doctor before starting the exercises. To find one, see the Ordre professionnel de la physiothérapie du Québec directory.

Joanie Roussy, in a karate gi, arms crossed

Guides, with Joanie.

Their author, Joanie Roussy, is a certified NOOM coach and a certified Strong Nation™, Zumba®, Zumbini® and CIRCL Mobility™ instructor; Shinkyokushin black belt karateka, sempai and director of the dojo. Every guide cites its sources and refers you to the right professionals.

Her story See the women's classes

Joanie's women's classes

Three women-only classes, at noon on weekdays: Strong Nation™, a 45-minute high-intensity workout where cardio and strength moves follow the music; Bootcamp, a circuit of stations with and without equipment; Zumba®, dance for endurance. No experience needed, and the first week is free.

For one-on-one support, Joanie also offers private 60-minute training sessions, on request. And for anyone who wants to learn a martial art, adult karate, which is mixed, is open to everyone from 14: the first class is free.

The dojo is at 550 chemin du Golf, suite 010, on Nuns' Island (Verdun). People come from Verdun and Le Sud-Ouest, and from downtown or Brossard on the REM, Île-des-Sœurs station: getting to the dojo maps the way from your place.

Request my free trial weekSee the women's classes