Attention: All Associates

Weekly Prize Drawing Winners
For the first time ever, we're awarding prizes throughout the competition! Each week, two lucky associates will score 1,000 reward points, which is equivalent to $25. Woohoo! As long as you're registered for the challenge, you are eligible for these weekly prize drawings.

Who won this week? Check out the above video to see!

Team Name Winners
Thanks to everyone who voted in our team name competition!

And now, the moment you've been waiting for .... the winners for each category are:

"Most Awesome" - Mission Slimpossible

"Funniest" - The Young & The Breathless

"Most Creative" - Cirque du Sore Legs

Each member of the winning teams won $10 in reward points, plus an additional entry into the grand prize drawing. 

Weekly Wellness Tip: What are the effects of eating too much sugar?
Mmm... sweet, sweet sugar! Did you know that according to the CDC, the average American consumes about 16 teaspoons of added sugar per day? This amounts to 73 pounds of extra sugar per year. Whoa!

The human body is not made to consume excessive amounts of sugar. In fact, the CDC recommends that a healthy diet should be less than 10% of your total daily calorie consumption. You can learn more about added sugar here.

What are the effects of all this extra sugar? It can cause metabolic dysfunction including weight gain, abdominal obesity, decreased HDL and increased LDL, elevated blood sugar, elevated triglycerides, and high blood pressure; lead to liver damage, heart disease, kidney disease, various cancers, and diabetes caused by Insulin resistance. Yikes!

Here are a few tips to help you get your sugar intake under control:

• Swap those sweet drinks. Drink water or unsweetened tea instead of sweetened beverages like soda and fruit juices.
• Limit packaged foods, which often contain a lot of refined sugars.
• Read the label to check for hidden sugars, listed as sucrose, glucose, dextrose, fructose, maltose and HFCS (high-fructose corn syrup). 

More Details under Wellness
Head over to the Wellness section on Buzz for complete details on the fitness challenge, including FAQ's and a list of all the fab prizes you can win.

Got Questions?
We’ve got answers at  benefits@essex.com.