Teddi Mellencamp, former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, is facing swift criticism about her weight loss and accountability program, All In.
Participants have anonymously come forward to share their experiences and highlight unethical and potentially dangerous components of the plan.
According to Refinery 29, Instagram influencer Emily Gellis claims that she began receiving messages from participants of the program who claimed that there were abusive aspects to it and that it encouraged disordered eating. Gellis decided to share these stories, allowing those who wanted to stay anonymous to remain that way.
The strict plan comes with strict pricing
The former housewife’s program is essentially supposed to be centered around diet and fitness with an accountability component. It is a three-part program that boasts an initial jump-start, which is a two-week introduction aimed at resetting to a healthy lifestyle.
Then Teddi Mellencamp’s All In program transitions users to a monthly program where they take what they have learned and apply it with a little less restrictive of a menu. The third piece of the plan is a maintenance piece.
All parts of the plan include an accountability coach who checks in and requires the participant to show them their meals, discuss what exercise they had done and facilitate weigh-ins all through text message.
The programs and the accountability coach all come with a hefty price tag. The initial jumpstart rings in at a non-refundable $599, the monthly tier racks up at $399 per month and the maintenance plan is $95 monthly. There are also multiple add on prices for specialty programs like fitness and weights, and a postpartum plan.
Anonymous participants claim they were mistreated
Those participants who came forward have claimed some downright torturous behavior from their accountability coaches. Claims of only being able to eat soup, consuming only 500 calories per day, being pushed to continue cardio after complaining of pain have all been waged against Teddi Mellencamp’s business.
“I did this program and it was a nightmare,” one anonymous person stated, “You have to send photos of your weight and each meal and proof of your 60-minute cardio workout every day. You cannot drink alcohol or you are immediately dropped from the program with no refund. I calculated the calories to be 400-500 per day.”
Even though these situations certainly sound extreme, are they actually dangerous? Dr. Jessie Hoffman, a physician and Ph.D. who specializes in eating disorders, weighed in on Teddi’s program.
“How about let’s NOT take diet advice from Real Housewives. A diet that prescribes <1000 calories, requires you to send updates after every meal, and encourages only broth soup for dinner everyday is probably the biggest red flag I’ve ever seen. Recipe for EDs,” Dr. Hoffman tweeted.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is currently on hiatus.