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Teddi Mellencamp is speaking out amid rumors claiming her All In program encourages clients to starve, forces them to submit weigh ins, and uses bully coaches to spark weight loss.
Following coverage from national broadcasts, including the TODAY show, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star addressed the reports on her podcast, first revealing why she chose to start her accountability business.
“The reason I started All In by Teddi had nothing to do with the business. I wanted to change my life,” Teddi began on the September 17 episode of Teddi Tea Pod. “I created my own happiness by taking care of myself and I used Instagram as a tool to hold me accountable. Of course not everybody is going to want to do that [but] people started reaching out to me and saying, ‘I want to do what you are doing but I want to do it with you.’ And that’s how the business was formed.”
Now, years later, Teddi’s business is under fire for allegedly promoting unhealthy eating plans and workout routines.
“People who don’t know all the details, or really know any details or have never done the program are saying things and I really want to use this as a learning opportunity to talk about what is going on,” Teddi explained. “The reason I started All In is to help others feel good and when strangers on social media are reaching out to my coaches or my clients and saying hateful things because of something they know nothing about, it hurts me.”
“It’s upsetting,” she continued. “You know when you’re really proud of something? That’s how I look at my All In community. When I see that client that’s finally leaving that abusive husband because she knows her worth… or when I see that client who finally says, ‘I’ve been stagnant and depressed and now I’m taking action’… I feel good and I feel happy and when I see that happiness trying to be dimmed by strangers on the internet, trying to derail other people’s happiness, it makes me feel sad for the world we live in.”
According to Teddi, who is reportedly in jeopardy of losing her gig on RHOBH due to the controversy surrounding her business, her All In program has never been based around a 500-calorie diet and “never will be.”
“We would never encourage anyone to starve. We focus on clean eating,” she explained, adding that “lean protein” is allowed, despite reports.
While there have been accounts of certain clients being kicked out of the program, Teddi said that when it comes to booting clients, she only does so if those clients are refusing to allow her and her team to do their jobs.
“If there is a repeated situation where somebody has signed up for the program and they are not being active in some capacity, if somebody’s on day three and they’re like, ‘I don’t want to do anything today but sit on the couch,’ how are we doing our job by letting you continue to do that?” she asked.
As for who is involved in her team, Teddi said that each and every one of her All In coaches once participated in her program.
“For me it was more important to have somebody that’s actually changed their life on this program, lived this lifestyle to help coach them reach their goals, versus somebody who has a certificate,” she explained. “If somebody wanted to sign up for a program with a nutritionalist, this isn’t the program for them and I’ve been very transparent about that.”
Teddi then said that when it comes to her weigh ins, they are not required as a form of punishment. Instead, she simply uses the information to track the progress of her clients.
“Because our business is over text message, we have to have a way to measure your accountability,” she shared.
Although there have also been accounts of clients feeling bullied by Teddi’s coaches, she insisted her coaches do not use bullying tactics. Instead, they treat each client individually.
“Some clients need [tougher love]. It really depends,” she noted. “Every client is different.”
Also on her podcast, Teddi reacted to claims of an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) being part of the process of signing up for All In.
“We require a consent form when you come through, which actually protects them as much as it protects us,” she said. “We want to make sure you are not pregnant, you have not had a past eating disorder, that we are not licensed professionals and we have no healthcare training.”
Teddi also noted that when she first began appearing on RHOBH, people were signing up solely because they wanted to talk to her, which prompted her to include the legal document in the sign-up.