Dr. A began his career as an intern at Grandview Hospital where he was selected as the Outstanding Intern of the Year. After 2 internships, and 2 fellowships, he chose to enter the emerging sub-specialty of critical care. He trained in open heart surgery at Cleveland Clinic and trained for two years at Jackson Memorial Hospital at the University of Miami, the premier program in the country in surgical intensive care.His experiences lead him to believe that to care for an extremely sick person, you must be well-versed in all organ systems and how they relate to each other when a patient is sick, as well as healthy. Dr. A became the tenth physician Board Certified in Critical Care and returned to Grandview where he began his post-graduate training to set up the open heart program and surgical intensive care unit.For 18 years, Dr. A directed the Surgical Critical Care Program at Grandview and was Chairman of the Dept of Anesthesiology. In 2000, he left his practice to devote his full energy to helping people to become and to stay healthy.In 2002, Dr. A joined Medifast as the Medical Director. Medifast is the leader in the production, distribution and sale of weight management and health management products. Medifast and Dr. A became involved with Johns Hopkins in collaborating studies to show the efficacy of meal replacements.During this time he felt the need to help people create a healthier life, which lead him to become the chief architect and co-founder of Take Shape for Life. There he has built an integrated support system that helps people make the necessary changes in their lifestyles to create optimal health. Using a team approach of health professionals working with Certified Health Advisors, TSFL provides leading edge nutritional solutions, medical support and the support of caring individuals, to provide the necessary one-on-one interaction so vital in changing peoples’ lives.Dr. A's first book, "Habits of Health" is due out in July 2008.Specialties: surgical critical care, anesthesiology, open heart surgery, weight loss, fitness, health, nutrition