Stay Off My Operating Table cover art

Stay Off My Operating Table

Stay Off My Operating Table

By: Dr. Philip Ovadia
Listen for free

About this listen

I was a morbidly obese heart surgeon.


All through high school, college, med school and surgical training, I followed the U.S. dietary guidelines for both diet and exercise. Yet nothing I did kept the weight off.


I just kept getting fatter and fatter.

Each day in surgery, I would split open the chests of people just like me. I knew I was heading for the operating table myself if I didn't find solutions that worked.

In 2016, I finally found a way to lose 100 pounds and keep it off.

Now - in addition to doing heart surgery - I work to help people just like me get healthy, lose the weight and keep it off.


I'm Dr. Philip Ovadia, the rebel M.D. and cardiac surgeon who is working to keep people off my operating table.


http://ovadiahearthealth.com/whitepaper/

Any use of this intellectual property for text and data mining or computational analysis including as training material for artificial intelligence systems is strictly prohibited without express written consent from Dr. Philip Ovadia.

© 2025 Stay Off My Operating Table
Exercise & Fitness Fitness, Diet & Nutrition Hygiene & Healthy Living Physical Illness & Disease
Episodes
  • BONUS: "Dispelling Nutrition Myths with Michelle Hurn: A Dietitian’s Journey to Metabolic Health"
    Oct 17 2025

    Michelle Hurn is a registered dietitian, ultra-runner, and author of "The Dietitian’s Dilemma." With over sixteen years of clinical experience, Michelle has seen firsthand the shortcomings of conventional dietary advice. Now serving on the board of the newly formed American Diabetes Society, she is a leading advocate for a low-carb, animal-based approach to metabolic health. Article summary of this interview - https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/dispelling-nutrition-myths-michelle-hurn-dietitians-journey-ovadia-ktksf/ Links: Michelle's website - https://thedietitiansdilemma.net/ American Diabetes Society - https://www.americandiabetessociety.org/ The Dietitian's Dilemma - https://www.amazon.com/Dietitians-Dilemma-restored-opposite-everything/dp/B08TYVDGS4/

    Send Dr. Ovadia a Text Message. (If you want a response, you must include your contact information.) Dr. Ovadia cannot respond here. To contact his team, please send an email to team@ifixhearts.com

    Like what you hear? Head over to IFixHearts.com/book to grab a copy of my book, Stay Off My Operating Table.

    Ready to go deeper? Talk to someone from my team at IFixHearts.com/talk.

    Stay Off My Operating Table on X:

    • Dr. Ovadia: @iFixHearts
    • Jack Heald: @JackHeald5

    Learn more:

    • Stay Off My Operating Table on Amazon
    • Take Dr. Ovadia's metabolic health quiz: iFixHearts
    • Dr. Ovadia's website: Ovadia Heart Health
    • Jack Heald's website: CultYourBrand.com

    Theme Song : Rage Against
    Written & Performed by Logan Gritton & Colin Gailey
    (c) 2016 Mercury Retro Recordings

    Any use of this intellectual property for text and data mining or computational analysis including as training material for artificial intelligence systems is strictly prohibited without express written consent from Dr. Philip Ovadia.

    Show More Show Less
    53 mins
  • #219: Why Your Knee Pain Might Actually Be About Your Relationship - Aleks Rybchinskiy
    Oct 14 2025

    What happens when a personal trainer realizes that loading someone under a barbell without asking about their sleep, relationships, and emotional state is like trying to run software on a broken operating system?

    In this compelling conversation, Aleks Rybchinskiy shares his transformation from conventional personal trainer to Check Institute practitioner - one of fewer than 100 people to complete the full program. After a near-death experience at age 3, Aleks developed an insatiable curiosity about the deeper mechanics of human health that goes far beyond exercise and nutrition.

    Through fascinating case studies, he demonstrates how mysterious chronic pain often stems from unresolved emotional conflicts, how a client's complete colon removal led to breakthroughs in holistic healing, and why measuring pelvic angles might matter more than counting reps. His approach integrates movement, breathing, food, emotions, and relationships into a comprehensive system for addressing the root causes that conventional approaches miss.

    The conversation takes an unexpected turn into entrepreneurship as Aleks explains how his quest for clean, nutrient-dense snacks led to creating Bursky - meat sticks made from grass-fed, grass-finished beef, heart, and liver without the industrial additives hiding behind vague labels like "spices." From learning that citric acid comes from black mold to fighting manufacturers who insisted on shortcuts, his journey illuminates why getting real food to market is so challenging.

    This isn't just another health podcast - it's a masterclass in seeing the human body as an integrated system where physical symptoms often point to deeper imbalances in how we think, feel, and relate to others.


    BIG IDEA

    When people are moving, they're also having somatic experiences where their emotions are stuck in muscles, and the moment someone realizes they need to break up with a toxic partner, their back pain can disappear instantly.

    Instagram: health.performance.engineer
    Website: EatBerski.com
    Bodhi Building Institute


    Send Dr. Ovadia a Text Message. (If you want a response, you must include your contact information.) Dr. Ovadia cannot respond here. To contact his team, please send an email to team@ifixhearts.com

    Like what you hear? Head over to IFixHearts.com/book to grab a copy of my book, Stay Off My Operating Table.

    Ready to go deeper? Talk to someone from my team at IFixHearts.com/talk.

    Stay Off My Operating Table on X:

    • Dr. Ovadia: @iFixHearts
    • Jack Heald: @JackHeald5

    Learn more:

    • Stay Off My Operating Table on Amazon
    • Take Dr. Ovadia's metabolic health quiz: iFixHearts
    • Dr. Ovadia's website: Ovadia Heart Health
    • Jack Heald's website: CultYourBrand.com

    Theme Song : Rage Against
    Written & Performed by Logan Gritton & Colin Gailey
    (c) 2016 Mercury Retro Recordings

    Any use of this intellectual property for text and data mining or computational analysis including as training material for artificial intelligence systems is strictly prohibited without express written consent from Dr. Philip Ovadia.

    Show More Show Less
    52 mins
  • BONUS: "He Lost 92 Pounds Eating Steak, Eggs, and Butter" — Zack Strength on the OHH Livestream
    Oct 10 2025

    Zack Strength is a former USC Trojans defensive tackle who lost 92 pounds eating steak, eggs, and butter—and he’s not shy about it. His massive, meat-heavy meals have gone viral, sparking debates, Twitter warnings, and an army of followers who swear by his approach. Now a fitness coach, Zack helps others build muscle, burn fat, and rethink everything they’ve been told about nutrition. Join us Wednesday, March 5, at 5 PM ET as we dive into his playbook—carnivore nutrition, protein for performance, resistance training, and what it really takes to fuel a D1-level body.

    Send Dr. Ovadia a Text Message. (If you want a response, you must include your contact information.) Dr. Ovadia cannot respond here. To contact his team, please send an email to team@ifixhearts.com

    Like what you hear? Head over to IFixHearts.com/book to grab a copy of my book, Stay Off My Operating Table.

    Ready to go deeper? Talk to someone from my team at IFixHearts.com/talk.

    Stay Off My Operating Table on X:

    • Dr. Ovadia: @iFixHearts
    • Jack Heald: @JackHeald5

    Learn more:

    • Stay Off My Operating Table on Amazon
    • Take Dr. Ovadia's metabolic health quiz: iFixHearts
    • Dr. Ovadia's website: Ovadia Heart Health
    • Jack Heald's website: CultYourBrand.com

    Theme Song : Rage Against
    Written & Performed by Logan Gritton & Colin Gailey
    (c) 2016 Mercury Retro Recordings

    Any use of this intellectual property for text and data mining or computational analysis including as training material for artificial intelligence systems is strictly prohibited without express written consent from Dr. Philip Ovadia.

    Show More Show Less
    42 mins
No reviews yet
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.