I love, love, love Chinese Hot Pot. For those of you who have never had it, it's a pot of boiling broth set into the table and you cook thinly shaved meats, vegetables and noodles in it. It's kind of like shabu shabu or fondue, except the cooking liquid is this wonderful broth and you end up eating/drinking a lot of the broth along with the veggies and meats.

My question is, do I have to give this up? It's universally accepted that you shouldn't drink while eating, but what do you do in the case of Soups with substantial amounts of veggies and meats in it? Should I try to eat less of the broth, or will it be okay?

What have your experiences been?

Thanks for your advice!

Soups, even hearty soups, are fine (IMO) as long as your restriction allows you to eat them. The deal with soups is that many people find that soups "go right through" the band, thus they might need to eat more to reach the "full" sensation. If you want soup and need to eat more, then I say just eat more. It's not going to take a lot more to get the feeling, and for me personally, I can feel full on soups, especially if I eat them earlier in the day, say for lunch.

I probably wouldn't make a habit of it, but the thing about this band, and my doctor HIGHLY supports this, is to enjoy and live your life. If it were me, I'd eat the broth first. Wait a few minutes to let it pass through, and then finish up with the veggies and meat. Maybe it would stay with you longer that way? Soup is so healthy. The broth of soup is where all the vitamins end up, so I wouldn't avoid the broth entirely. Just don't fill up on it and then not be able to eat your meat and veggies. As long as this is an occasional thing, enjoy it.

the only thing i'd be concerned with is the sodium content ... some of those hotpots are full of salt!!!

the only thing i'd be concerned with is the sodium content ... some of those hotpots are full of salt!!!

I second that!!!!!!!!!!