A woman weighing almost 22 stone has become the first woman in the UK to have a successful weight loss with a stomach band operated by remote control.

When Caroline Paymayesh tipped the scales at 21stone 8, she was in the depths of despair.

She had tried numerous different diets without success.  She had been told by the doctors that she was so overweight that she had just seven to ten years left to live if she didn’t take any action.

So she was fitted with a gastric band called the Easyband which is electronically adjusted outside the body, in February last year, and has now lost a staggering nine stone.

Mrs Paymayesh, 48, who lives in London with her husband Hamid, 56, a restaurant owner, and their two children Shadi, 19, and Kaveh, 13, said: ‘I feel absolutely fantastic. I’ve spent 48 years looking in the mirror hating what I saw.

‘Now I look at myself and I look great. Losing nine stone has changed my life.

‘I wasn’t worried about having such a pioneering procedure. I put my faith in the doctors, and it has paid off.

‘It was strange being treated by a remote control gadget, but it has been worth it.’

Mrs Paymayesh, a book keeper, had struggled with her weight all of her life, since she started comfort eating at the age of 13 after the death of her father.

She married her husband at the age of 21, and then went on to have her two children and after that her weight ballooned.

She said: ‘I had an addiction to chocolate. I couldn’t stop myself. I would eat healthily enough at meals, just having cereal and toast for breakfast, a salad at lunchtime then a normal meat, vegetable and potato meal at night. But I was also eating dozens of chocolate bars a day.

‘I did try so many different diets over the years, the Cambridge diet, a liquid diet, and joined various slimming groups.

‘I went to restaurants, but I lost count of the amount of times I’ve tried to get out of a chair and I’ve been stuck in it. And my children were really worried about me too. I used to sit next to my son on the sofa and he would say that I was wheezing and out of breath.’

Last Christmas Mrs Paymayesh decided to take drastic action and consulted David Greenly of NLP Excellence. Following a few sessions she felt confident enough to take control of her future and then read about the new Easyband on the internet.

The band is tightened to vary the capacity of her stomach, to limit the amount of food eaten whilst giving a feeling of fulness.

It contains a tiny receiver and a computer chip linked to a motor the size of a 10p piece.

Once the band is in place, a wire attached to it is led up into the chest and fitted to a tiny receiver which sits just underneath the skin by the breastbone.

To tighten the Easyband, a doctor presses a button on a handheld computer, sending an electronic signal via the receiver to the motor.

Conventional gastric bands are filled with salt water and can be tightened only by injecting more fluid to inlate the band, which carried a risk of infection.

Dr David Ashton, from the Healthier Weight Centre, who carried out the operation on Mrs Paymayesh at the Alexandra Hospital in Manchester, said: ‘It reduces the risk of infection compared to the conventional gastric band surgery because adjustments can be made by remote control. A conventional band requires a saline injection has to be made into an access port each time an adjustment is made, which introduces the risk of infection.

‘The Easyband is also ideal for patients who don’t like needles.’

Mrs Paymayesh had her surgery in February, and the procedure lasted just 45 minutes.

She said: ‘I woke up afterwards and I felt a little sore, but I was allowed home the same day.

For three weeks I could only drink fluids, then after that I could eat pureed food for another two weeks, until I could eat proper food again, but smaller portions.

‘The band was first tightened after eight weeks. The doctor pointed the remote control device at my chest, and pressed it. It felt slightly uncomfortable as the band tightened, just like mild indigestion, but that was it.

‘It was so strange having it done by remote control, but it really worked. After a month I’d lost a stone. I would get the band tightened every six weeks, and the weight just dropped off me. I lost a stone every month.

Mrs Paymayesh now weighs 12 stone 7, and has gone from wearing a dress size 30 to a 16.

She added: ‘I have to eat very small portions now. When I reach my target weight of 11 stone 7, then the band will slowly be released and I will be able to eat more, but I will be managing my weight.

‘I’m so happy now, as I feel fantastic. My children are really proud of me and I’m not living with a death sentence anymore.

‘For the first time in 48 years, I can finally look in the mirror and feel happy with the way that I look - and it’s all down to remote control.’ Both of Easyband and remote control re=programming of my mind through NLP.

Dr Ashton added: ‘Mrs Paymayesh is the first successful case in the country to have such a weight loss from this procedure.

‘It is a very exciting result.’

Finally, Mrs Paymayesh adds: 'The results with Easyband would not have been possible if I had not been helped by David Greenly to gain control of my mental state through the use of NLP".

"I use NLP most days to keep myself on track and ensure I keep a positive outlook on life. NLP has been nothing short of revolutionary for me and coupled with my weight loss I now look forward to a great future".

David Greenly added : The key in this inspiring story is the process to gain control of your own thoughts and feelings before you undergo any kind of medical procedure. Enough control to get you started but also to keep you going so that you can reap all the great benefits.