I am getting to the stage where I can eat real food. I am being careful, eatting small amounts, eatting slowly, and chewing the food to mush. I am still not hungry. However, when I eat, I am not feeling full. I go from eatting nicely to I feel like I have to throw up. Is there a way to know when to stop to avoid the feeling?

Ahhh, there lies the rub, as they say. This is where the learning curve kicks in. You have to redefine the word "full". Full no longer means you have a "bowling ball" in your tummy. Full is now "higher up". Full for me is more like a tighter feeling in my mid-chest. Try sitting down by yourself in a quiet room and eating a meal very very slowly. Consider each bite. Consider what it feels like going down. Feel the sensation when it "hits bottom". Generally, even without restriction, when I first was on solids, I could eat about 4 bites and then get this "feeling". At that point I could slow down or stop completely. Sometimes if I continued, I would get nauseus. Sometimes not. Try eating meals in this experimental way to get in tune with your body and what it is telling you. There will be very subtle hints and you'll have to reassess the meaning of the words hungry, full, etc. These are new sensations you have never experienced before so you have to LEARN what each one means.

The problem right now is that I am not hungry and I have no feeling of being full. Will that happen once the band is filled? Have I not gotten to the stage where I will "know"?

Abby, one way is to use portion control. Most bandsters can eat a cup without a problem. If you feel like throwing up with a cup of food I would simply eat 1/2 of a cup. That should help.

Things feel very different post-band and pre-restriction, so this is kindof a "no man's land". You have to kindof wing it here, but this will not last forever. When you start getting fills, and you start getting actual restriction, you will KNOW when to stop. Good restriction is a very "AHA!!!!" moment. Especially since you do not have restriction, your band isn't working yet, so some of the "rules" don't apply. You have to use good judgment here....err on the side of conservatism. It will pass.