Peter Avery has always considered himself to be a very outgoing, larger than life character. It wasn't until he began a serious weight loss programme using the Concept 2 Indoor Rower, though, that he realised how much larger than life he was.Peter, a 50 year old Assistant Head Teacher from Sheffield, went to the doctor last year to get a prescription for a minor ailment but was shocked when the doctor told him there was little point in helping him as he could have a heart attack at any time. It was a shock that Peter didn't see coming and it was enough to make him realise he needed to make some major changes to his life. He embarked on a low calorie diet and training programme and lost an amazing 13 stone in a year.At 49 years old, I weighed 29½ stone, explained Peter. I'd never considered my weight to be a problem. If anyone made any jokes about my size, I just laughed it off.When the doctor told me it was seriously affecting my health and I was actually at risk of a heart attack I started a low calorie diet and began a training regime.Playing contact sports all his life has meant Peter has always had a well-built frame. But after a few years of not playing sport regularly he began to put on weight but didn't really notice how much.Peter joined a gym and discovered the Concept 2 Indoor Rower and began training on the machine regularly.With the Concept 2 you really feel like you're working – unlike swimming when all I felt like I was doing was getting wet! You've got to maintain your pace throughout the workout and work against the machine.Now I love the machine and have even bought one for my home so I can train any time of day. Each morning I row 2,500m in under 10 minutes and thanks to the training I've now lost more than 13 stone in 12 months!Obese people obsess about food. You need to transfer that obsession to something else in order to lose weight – I transferred my obsession to the Concept 2!Peter's affection for the Indoor Rower has stretched to his work too. A colleague has also bought a Concept 2 on the strength of his recommendation and Peter is working to open a sports suite at the school and introduce his pupils to the Concept 2.I'm really keen for our pupils to start using the Concept 2. I recently organized an indoor rowing event at the school where a group of pupils and I rowed the 9,000 mile distance from Sheffield to our twinned school in Africa. The pupils loved doing it. Rowing on the Concept 2 is something they can do without feeling self conscious of their weight. They don't have to wear sports gear and you can row on the machine comfortably in your school uniform if you wanted to, said Peter.Personally, I'm now aiming to keep the weight off and continue my training on the Indoor Rower. I'm more of a distance rower than a time-trialler but if I keep working out on the machine and get a bit faster I'll be racing at the British Championships soon – hopefully with some of my pupils!