Urbana doctor discusses health resolutions for 2024

CENTRAL ILLINOIS (WCIA) — New Year brings many aspirations for self-change — specifically, goals to become the healthiest version of yourself.

Just ask Jesse Barfield from Paxton. His resolution aligns with self-improvement.

“I’m trying to go to the gym every day, and I’m going to try cutting out red meat from my diet because it’s not really good for me,” Barfield said.

Some resolutions are long term. That’s the case for Doctor Phillip Ovadia, a cardiothoracic surgeon at OSF in Urbana. His resolution started eight years ago. It began when he lost more than 100 pounds and reversed his pre-diabetes.

“I hope it can inspire [people],” Ovadia said, “and I hope it also can help them realize that if a heart surgeon, who had gone through medical school and all the training, got so unhealthy that I had reached the point that I was morbidly obese and pre-diabetic, that they…