The Reneau family wins the makeover

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE)  Two very deserving families were the finalists for the Extreme Family Makeover, but only one could win. After more than 1,700 votes, the Reneau family came out on top and won the makeover.

"It's exciting to think about the changes that will happen and how this time it's for a lifetime and not just for a minute or a few months," Amie Reneau said.

Mark and Amie have two kids, Riley, 11, and Chloe, 10. Marsha Worthington from America on the Move is the coordinator for the challenge. She called Mark at work to tell them his family won.

"At first she didn't say if we won or not and I was holding my breath," Mark said. "But then she said we won and I couldn't believe it! I'm ready to get going and learn new things."

The kids are ready to get started too.

"I'm excited we won because it will be a change for our life," Chloe said.

"I'm ready to be able to play outside better, quicker, faster and stronger," Riley said.

The coaches didn't waste any time to meet with the family. The three coaches for the makeover are:

Kathy Wehrle, RD: Nutrition Coach from Parkview Hospital

Brian West, Exercise Specialist: Physical Activity Coach from the YMCA

Ann Reidenbach, RD and Counselor: Behavioral Coach

"Our goal it to help you set the goals you want to set and our goal is to say what do you need to change to be healthier," Marsha Worthington said.

The Reneaus also got their first support gift of the week, a basket of healthy food from the Northeast Indiana Dietitian's Association.

America on the Move also gave the family pedometers. Each of them will wear the pedometer all day to get a starting point of their activity level and track how it changes.

Each coach also gave the family an overview of what they'd focus on first.

"We'll start with teaching them a few pieces of equipment and show them the other things they can do at the YMCA," West said.

West will meet with the family for the first week of the challenge.

The second week, they'll meet with the nutrition coach.

"We start with teaching them what a healthy life eating is and figure out what caused the weight issue with the adults and children," Wehrle said.

The third week will be the meeting with the behavior coach.

"I'll work with the family and see if they develop obstacles, which everyone does, so I'll help the family identify obstacles that arise in front of the goals they initially set and figure out a way to reestablish the goal or a way around the obstacle," Reidenback said.

After meeting with all the coaches for an orientation session, the family is ready to get going.

"They all want what we want: good health. And I feel like we have four cheerleaders beside us and it's encouraging," Amie said.

The other families:

The other finalist family was the Davidson family. While they didn't win the full health makeover, they are getting some help toward healthy living.

Parkview Hospital, America on the Move and Fort Wayne Cardiology are covering the costs for Shapedown Family Weight Management classes. The YMCA's donating a three-month membership.

In total, 31 families applied to be the winning family to get the makeover. The other applicants will get a mini-makeover in May. They'll have a chance to meet with the coaches for healthy living tips.

Everyone can learn how to be more active and eat more nutritious foods by watching the Reneau family go through the makeover. Weekly stories will air on NewsChannel 15's First at Five Stories for your Well Being segment.

Those stories will also be on the Extreme Family Makeover page here on wane.com. Also on the website are a variety of tools and tips for healthy living.