One woman wanted to get in shape for her wedding, while another hoped to lose weight after having a baby. Both turned to “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Teddi Mellencamp’s All In accountability program to do so.
While the first person — who asked not to be named — quickly reached her goal weight by using Mellencamp’s plan, the other woman, Stephanie Langlitz, tells Page Six that the program caused her deep physical and emotional pain.
“It was very degrading,” Langlitz recently claimed to Page Six of the program, which she went through in late 2017. “It was very isolating.”
Mellencamp, the 39-year-old daughter of rocker John Mellencamp, recently came under fire after former participants anonymously made serious allegations against All In. Speaking through influencer Emily Gellis Lande’s Instagram account and to Page Six, they claimed their accountability coaches failed to help them when they were in pain from the allegedly extreme diet and tough exercise requirements.
Although Mellencamp has adamantly defended her program and its safety, Page Six spoke to nutritionists and personal trainers who said that if the allegations against All In are true, the program could be dangerous.
“If I want to have orthopedic surgery on my knee, I’m not going to get Kanye West to do it,” celebrity trainer and nutrition expert Harley Pasternak told us. “Because someone’s great at one thing doesn’t mean they know anything about the other thing. So if this is an entertaining person on a reality show, if someone’s going to say, ‘Oh, that’s also who I want to get my health information from,’ you know what? Buyer beware. I mean that. You’re the idiot.”
What is the program?
Mellencamp declares on her website that she created All In to “empower all of us to be our best selves by partnering up for positive change,” but some former participants are quick to challenge Mellencamp’s approach.
The program, which consists of four levels, starts with a two-week “Jumpstart” that costs $599 — a fee that’s non-refundable to hold participants “accountable” for success.
Former participants shared on social media that once they were accepted into the program, they were given a non-personalized meal plan that allegedly allowed just 500 to 1,000 calories a day, plus an hour of required cardio, as monitored by a coach.
We were told by two former participants and saw social media accounts of claims that if participants don’t provide photo evidence of their meals or workouts, they’ll often get berated by their coach. In the most extreme circumstances, they can even be dropped from the program without a refund, per Mellencamp’s policy.
But Mellencamp has denied the calorie-restriction allegations. A source close to the program explained the “Jumpstart” as “a two-week period based on a daily caloric intake of 1,100 to 1,200 calories that helps the client reset and literally ‘jumpstart’ a lifestyle of clean eating and exercise. Following the first two weeks, calories are increased and clients will find that the program becomes much more tailored to their specific needs for a healthy, sustainable lifestyle. All In has never, nor will ever, support such a low caloric intake of 500 calories a day.”
Still, Pasternak told us that if the program is suggesting 500 calories a day, it is “basically telling people to have a severe eating disorder … Five hundred calories a day is not enough to sustain off of.” He added that the program’s hour of cardio “is just downright dangerous” if participants have an extremely low caloric intake.
According to Health.gov, the suggested caloric intake for adult women is between 1,600 and 2,400 calories per day and 2,000 to 3,000 per day for adult men.
Additionally, upon signing up for All In, clients are asked to disclose if they suffer from any eating disorders; however, just asking participants about their history may not be enough to spot potential danger, experts told Page Six.
Registered dietician Lisa Moskovitz said that all “extreme weight-loss diets” can lead to someone without food issues developing disordered eating.
In general, “you’re living and breathing by strict guidelines,” she said. “You’re thinking about food all of the time. You’re obsessing over the scale … And that is disordered eating.”
However, a rep for Mellencamp told us: “Applications submitted by those with a history of disordered eating are thoroughly reviewed, often rejected and only considered following confirmation from a medical professional that the individual has been in a successful recovery for quite some time. This strict policy was implemented to protect those more susceptible of certain triggers and to avoid resurfacing past emotions and trauma. Those who engage in unhealthy eating methods are strongly advised against applying to the program.”
If the allegations of berating and dropping clients from the program are true, Moskovitz believes that once a participant is conditioned to see their worth based on the number on the scale, it can set them up for failure long-term.
But a source close to the program defended the harsh approach, saying: “Bullying goes against All In’s philosophy and would be counterproductive. Some clients do prefer more of a ‘tough love’ approach while others need more positive reinforcement, which is why All In works to match people with a coach who fits their personality type.”
Who is Teddi Mellencamp?
Bravo fans were introduced to Mellencamp in 2017, but she started in the wellness lifestyle space before “RHOBH.”
In the run-up to her reality TV stint, she ran LA Workout Junkie, an Instagram account and now-defunct website where she would share her favorite classes and exercise tips. She was a ClassPass ambassador at one point as well.
In terms of her professional qualifications, Mellencamp told us in an email that she is an AFPA-certified nutrition and wellness consultant and an AFPA-certified personal trainer, “but that’s not what our program is about.”
“We employ accountability coaches, and each of them has been through the program, which makes a difference. It builds a community and there is a lot to be said for people who have shared lived experiences,” she said.
Some fans and experts have slammed Mellencamp’s qualifications, including Moskovitz, who founded the NY Nutrition Group. She explained that to become an expert in nutrition, she had to study for six to seven years, complete an internship and then study and pass a thorough exam. She is also required to take continuing education classes or workshops. Meanwhile, Mellencamp’s nutrition certification through AFPA (American Fitness Professionals & Associates, a nationally recognized physical fitness program based in New Jersey) may have taken her only six months to obtain.
While she was axed from “RHOBH” in September, Bravo head honcho Andy Cohen insisted that it had nothing to do with the recent controversy surrounding All In.
Who has done the program?
Page Six spoke with two participants, a then-34-year-old bride who wished not to be named and Langlitz, a mom of one.
The bride, who joined All In in January 2018 after hearing about it on “RHOBH,” lost about 60 pounds. She described the program as “pretty intense” and “very structured,” saying she “had to submit weight pictures” and “take pictures [or have] proof of a workout.” She said the diet was a “big adjustment” for her, as there was “no protein for the first 15 days” and “soup was dinner every night.”
She talked to her coach “all day every day” and felt motivated, but quit the program after her wedding because of financial constraints. She told us that she would do the program again, but she “wouldn’t want to feel as restricted.”
Meanwhile, Langlitz would never go near the program again.
She said she was introduced to All In by a mutual acquaintance of hers and Mellencamp’s before Mellencamp became a reality star. She joined in October 2017 to lose weight after giving birth to her first child.
However, the next two weeks became difficult for her in ways she never imagined.
“I started getting really bad headaches,” she told us. “My kidneys hurt at one point and I brought that up to them and they told me to still get cardio in that day. Even though I was complaining of pain and I continued feeling very hot and very dehydrated. So there were things that just kept coming up. I sort of realized I didn’t like the way that I was being spoken to at all. I was told I was gonna be dropped from the program because I ate half of a burger patty with no bun on a date and Teddi said I was abandoning my responsibility for a man and not making ideal choices because of it. It felt very degrading and very bullying.”
Why is the program allegedly dangerous?
Experts agreed in separate interviews that the All In program is not sustainable for healthy weight loss and could create longer-lasting issues with food.
Nutritionist Brigid Titgemeier noted that healthy weight loss is defined as losing one to two pounds per week — though Mellencamp has boasted about participants dropping a staggering 43.5 and 89.2 pounds in six weeks.
She noted, “I don’t tie self-worth to a number on the scale and I also don’t tie self-worth to the choices that people make in one meal. I really try not to view food as good or bad … I think that a lot of these ideas can set people up for failure and feeling that they’re a good person if they lose five pounds in two days, celebrating them for that, rather than celebrating whether the way that they’ve gotten there is truly healthy and in their own best interest.”
Experts also said nutrition plans need to be individualized for safety and success. However, according to past participants, Mellencamp provides everyone with the same straightforward list of a few different options for each meal.
“Nutrition is not a one-size-fits-all,” said doctorate-prepared nurse practitioner and nutrition consultant Megan Rigby, who works with plastic surgery candidates ahead of their procedures.
“What foods do they like? What don’t they like? What’s their medical history? All of it plays a really big role in to what their nutrition should be.”
Of All In’s food choices, Mellencamp told Page Six in a recent email: “There are a variety of nutritional food options on our menu. We have found that clients do best following a simple menu in the initial stages. We allow lean, clean proteins throughout the program and we encourage clients to eat balanced meals. Protein-rich veggies are a large part of our plan. It’s all about tailoring a program to meet each client’s goals and needs for a healthier lifestyle.”
The program also raises concerns from a physical fitness perspective.
“It is very important for people to seek out educated and credentialed personal trainers as opposed to social media influencers,” Denny LeVine, a certified personal trainer with 25 years’ experience, told us. “You should be looking for an expert who understands the science behind exercise, and can apply those principles specifically to you and your unique body.”
But when it comes to being certified in the fitness space, Gunnar Peterson — a certified strength and conditioning specialist and certified personal trainer with over 28 years of experience — supports the idea that not everyone needs to be as qualified as he is.
“I think there are a lot of people on social media who are really good [trainers without certifications],” he told us. “I think there are people who are qualified on social media. And I think there are people who, even if they’re not qualified, sometimes their stuff is interesting or good … I don’t think a certification makes or breaks a trainer.”
A source close to the program told us that Mellencamp is taking criticisms into consideration.
“While All In is transparent about the credibility of their coaches, Teddi and the All In team are always open to feedback and have engaged with licensed professionals to explore ways they can improve the program,” the source said.
What’s next for All In?
While some participants have moved on after saying they’ve been hurt by the program, the damage has been done.
“Over time, I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t know, maybe I had exaggerated it. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as I remember it being,’” Langlitz concluded of her experience. “And then when I … went back, I actually think it’s 10 times worse now.”
Still, it doesn’t appear that Mellencamp’s program is slowing down as she continues to promote how full her groups are on social media.