Unzip the Fat Suit: Obese woman so heavy she needed both knees replaced loses over 12st through hypnosis Trish Walker was 24st 7lbs at her heaviest She lost half of her body weight in 18 months Was about to have gastric band fitted when she began hypnotherapy Therapist Maggie Wilde developed CPR (control, program, rewire) method CPR involves tapping on points on the body to change thoughts Trish now weighs 12st 3lbs and exercises daily A woman who was so overweight she had to have both knees replaced has lost over half her body weight through hypnosis. Trish Walker, 56, from Australia, was 24st 7lbs at her heaviest but has managed to drop to 12st 3lbs after conquering her fast food cravings. Following a double knee replacement that was needed as a direct result of her obesity the mother-of-two was preparing to have a gastric band fitted when her psychiatrist recommended a hypnotherapy course. In the end the course proved so successful that Trish was able to conquer her addiction to food and lose weight without the dangerous surgery. Trish walker lost over 12st, from 24st 7lbs (left) to 12st 3lbs (right) through hypnosis Trish, who is now retired from her job as a Childhood Manager for the Department of Education, says: "Now I am the kind of person who enjoys moving my body. A yo-yo dieter since her teens, Trish, who is mother to Kathryn, 24, and Ben, 25, had gained and lost up to 8st at a time over the years. Trish would often eat whole cakes in secret, or entire packs of biscuits and tubs of ice-cream alone in her car, sometimes eating until she was physically sick. Her knees had become so destroyed by her size that the bones were rubbing together and she was barely able to walk. Trish has yo yo dieted all her life, but always regained the weight, often eating in secret Trish had often contemplated a gastric band but her sister-in-law had died years before from complications when having one fitted, leaving Trish terrified of undergoing the procedure. Despite her fears, her increasing disability and desperation at her inability to lose weight prompted Trish to start seeing a psychiatrist to discuss getting a gastric band fitted. The psychiatrist recommended Trish also started seeing a hypnotherapist, who had had success with food addicts. Trish during her incredible weight loss, at 22st (left) and 14st (right) Hypnotherapist Maggie Wilde worked with Trish to retrain her thought patterns around food, using a CPR (control, program, rewire) method, which involves tapping on control points on the body while repeating mantras to retrain the mind. Trigger points including the sternum, the chin, the underside of the hand, and fingers, and are repeatedly tapped gently to beat cravings. Trish says: 'I was amazed how well it worked. In the first session I could remember thinking while we were doing the tapping that there was no way I wouldn't have my cake that weekend. Now at a trim 12st 3lb, Trish says she feels amazing and now visits the gym at least 5 times a week 'But after the session I went to the local café where I'd always go, and I looked at the cake display, and I found I just didn't want one. I still get cravings and have had to really tap into the resistance, because it is still a choice. Trish also used the hypnosis tapping to help rid herself of her fear of exercise. Trish in her old 'fat dress' in April this year as the effects of her weight loss began to show Previously almost immobile, Trish now exercises daily and goes to water aerobics and the gym at least 5 times per week. I started with just moving around the living room, just moving my body. It happened slowly, I'd start parking the car further away from where I needed to be, and just focus on moving more. Now I go to the gym 5 to 6 times a week, including swimming and aqua aerobics If someone had said to me 18 months ago that I would even be in a gym outfit I would have thought they were mad, but I love it. Maggie, who has written a book on her methods "Mind Potential: Unzip the Fat Suit Using Your Mind" says: ""I taught Trish how to control cravings so she could say no to the addictive sugars and carbs. 'It's never just about the weight though, there's always differing levels of self doubt, self blame, self anger and old emotional issues that cause us to eat our emotions. We rewired her thinking and emotional patterns so that she learned how to deal with challenges in healthy ways. Now she eats only to provide nutrition for her body. She loves who she has become and so do her family. She has actually learned to like herself for the first time in her life. The strategies taught her to think like a slim and healthy person. Trish now weighs a healthy 12st 3lbs she has lost about 170Ibs, half her original body weight. It's amazing. I feel the healthiest, and even the most beautiful that I've ever been," she says.