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Two employees win the Eat Wise and Exercise Essay Contest

It only took David Berberian two weeks to see tangible differences as part of Live for Life's Eat Wise and Exercise program. Berberian, who won the help of Live for Life staff through the Eat Wise essay contest, has shed more than seven pounds since the program started on Jan. 12 by working out more effectively and keeping a food journal.

Berberian, a scene shop coordinator with Event Management, and Victoria Grice, a staff assistant in the Duke Center for International Development, were the individual winners of the Eat Wise and Exercise essay contest. The undergraduate Dean of Students Office wrote the winning group essay.

Eat Wise and Exercise is a 10-week initiative to encourage Duke employees to keep healthy diet and exercise habits. Participants are provided with online tools to help them reach their health goals while reporting their weight and minutes of exercise each week on the Eat Wise website.

The individual winners receive free visits to nutrition and fitness specialists every week and a free pair of athletic shoes. The group winner gets free seminars on nutrition, fitness and how to maintain stress.

Along with Berberian, Grice has also seen changes, writing in a weekly update that in the first three weeks she's already started to feel better physically and her clothes fit more comfortably.

Over the remaining time of the Eat Wise and Exercise program, all three essay winners will document their progress. You can read their stories at http://www.hr.duke.edu/eatwise.

See how Victoria Grice felt going into the Eat Wise program by watching the video above. To see all the video's click here.