ANDREW LARSON, MD, FACS is a board certified general, laparoscopic, and bariatric surgeon, one of only a couple hundred physicians in the world currently directing an internationally certified “Center of Excellence” program offering weight loss surgery. He is an Affiliate Clinical Assistant Professor at the Schmidt College of Biomedical Science at Florida Atlantic University and a Voluntary Assistant Professor of Surgery for the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami. Dr. Larson graduated with distinction from Cornell University, where he earned a BS in mechanical engineering. He earned his MD from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine, consistently ranked amongst the top five medical schools in North America. Since graduating from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine Dr. Larson has trained at some of the nation’s most storied medical institutions including:

• Philadelphia’s Pennsylvania Hospital, the nation’s first hospital

• Philadelphia’s Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

• New York’s prestigious Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

• New Jersey’s premier heart hospital, the Newark-Beth Israel Medical Center

• New Jersey’s Monmouth Medical Center, a referral center for minimally invasive surgery

Dr. Larson presently works in Palm Beach County, Florida where he serves as medical director for JFK Medical Center’s Bariatric Wellness and Surgical Institute, a certified “Center of Excellence” facility for weight loss surgery.  Dr. Larson is a member of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons, the American Medical Association, and the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity. He holds a fellowship in the American College of Surgeons and is a board member of the Palm Beach County Medical Society. Dr. Larson has published multiple peer-reviewed medical journal articles and presented scientific research at national conferences. Along with his wife, Ivy Larson, he has authored three national top selling books to date in addition to serving as the medical expert for the Chicken Soup for the Soul Healthy Living: Weight Loss book.

For more information about Dr. Larson’s surgical practice please visit www.goldcoastsurgery.com

IVY LARSON is a healthy lifestyle coach, author of the Amazon.com #1 bestselling Gold Coast Cure (HCI Books, 2005), which included a 30-minute workout DVD she choreographed and instructed, the follow-up Gold Coast Cure’s Fitter, Firmer, Faster Program (HCI Books, 2007) and The Whole Foods Diet Cookbook. In addition to doing the recipe development for her own books, Ivy also does recipe development for other authors. Ivy Larson currently teaches “Lifestyle Makeover” Programs providing nutrition seminars and group exercise programs in south Florida. Ivy Larson also teaches whole foods cooking classes at Whole Foods Market, Williams-Sonoma and In the Kitchen. Ivy Larson is a popular figure among top national media outlets, having graced the cover of Let’s Live and been featured in Time Magazine, Fitness Magazine, Life & Style, Get Active, Oxygen, Woman’s Day, Woman’s World, Star, National Examiner, First for Women, and Quick and Simple. She has appeared on CNN, The Montel Show, NBC’s ivillage Live and currently makes regular appearances on Lifetime Television’s The Balancing Act, where she hosted a 10-week “Lifestyle Makeover Program” based on her Gold Coast Cure book series. As a mother, Ivy Larson intimately understands the time constraints other working women and mothers face and she aims to make her lifestyle and fitness recommendations as realistic and doable as possible. Her 30-minute, 3 day weekly “Fitter, Firmer, Faster” workouts are especially popular among time-crunched women trying to balance family, fitness, health and work. Ivy Larson holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree from Palm Beach Atlantic University and is an American College of Sports Medicine Certified Health Fitness Specialist. She holds additional professional certifications as a fitness instructor and fitness testing specialist through the Fitness Institute International. Ivy Larson lives in North Palm Beach, Florida with her husband and son.