I follow the My Fitness Pal (which is free). The nutritionist at Mayo suggested I try it and I have been pleased. I walk and do light weights for upper body strength. I imagine swimming would be great, but I am not much of a swimmer. I am a heart transplant and lead the Heart Transplant Group at Mayo Florida.

@eileenheart I am not much of a swimmer either -- I hate putting my face into the water (I have to hold my nose!) and swimming with my head lifted hurts my neck. I walk/jog/march laps for 45 minutes to an hour. I also do sort of a walking breast stroke, and backwards walking. At the health club I go to there are many pool walkers. There is a branch of a PT group within my club and they prescribe pool walking. Those people always include backward walking and sideways walking! The pool is great because if you have issues with knees or whatever like I do, doing these things in the water is lower impact. It also burns more calories because of the water resistance.
I would like to get into lifting light weights.
Amusing story -- my son "lifts" and I idly asked him how much he lifts. He beat around the bush and then finally said "about the same as you Mom, probably". He will never say anything that he thinks could be construed as bragging. That did peak my curiosity even more though so I asked his friend and he said they both lift around 300.
JK

@eileenheart, I would like to say Welcome to Connect. I am thrilled to have you join us and share this helpful advice.
I am an 8 year liver/kidney transplant recipient, and I am happy to meet you, a fellow transplant recipient!

Please look at some of the discussion topics that are happening, and know that you are invited to jump right in. There are some real i interesting questions, as well as some good discussions that are taking place. Also, feel free to begin your own discussion.

How long ago did you receive your transplant?
And what is the Heart Transplant Group? That sounds interesting to me. I live 800+ miles away from my transplant center, Mayo Rochester. As far as I know there is nothing like that near my home - for any of the transplant people in my locale.
Rosemary

Thank you for your suggestion. Our YMCA has swimming programs. Also,our club has a pool. I loved your suggrdtions

Hi Eileen,
I want to add my welcome. So glad that you were encouraged to participate in the discussions here. We look forward to getting to know you. How long ago did you have your transplant? Can you tell us more about the heart transplant support group that you lead?

This is a comment to all regarding exercise. My goal is to lose 40 lbs in the next year, hopefully before I need a kidney transplant. I have bad plantar fasciitis so I was using that as an excuse to no longer walk my dog. With treatment from my podiatrist, and a renewed commitment to take care of myself, I am back to 1 mile walks but my exciting news is that I have discovered the rowing machine at the YMCA. It is a full body workout and the first time I managed 10 minutes. Sometimes I do 30 minutes slow and easy and other times I do shorter times with intervals (row hard for one minute, catch my breath with a slower row, then row hard again). I started doing it every other day because I felt like my muscles needed a day to recover, much like weight lifting. I prefer this workout over swimming and it is easier on my feet than waking, treadmill, elliptical etc. Just thought I'd throw out the idea to anyone who has access to one at a gym. It always intimidated me before but I like it. I just ignore the super fit people who row next to me really fast for 10 minutes then get up and go to another piece of equipment. The first time I had some brief flank pain (kidneys) but it has not repeated. It is a good abdominal exercise so I've noticed that my posture has improved and I'm sleeping better. I do recommend some stretching after rowing because you use a lot of muscle groups you don't realize until stiffness the following day. Of course, don't start any strenuous workout without consulting with your doctor. This post is strictly anecdotal. Whatever you do, keep up the good work taking care of yourself!

@lcamino Thanks for that info, and congratulations on your success, that's great. I have never done a rowing machine although I do others but you make this sound very worthwhile. I enjoy the pool but am getting a bit bored having it as my primary exercise so I need to expand.
When I go to the gym in my club I start with treadmill and end with an elliptical. I too know I do them for much less time than the hard-core gym-rats do, but that's OK. I do some other equipment too. My physical therapist gave me a sheet with recommended exercises and how much and for how long but the names at PT are different from the names at the gym and it's been a while so visually I am not connecting well.
I don't do much regular walking because the impact bothers me.
JK

@lcamino, Thanks for sharing this. You have a firm goal, and a good attitude. And you are a real encourager! My husband and I have joined a local gym and our Silver Sneakers program pays for it. I guess being 'old' has its advantages! I have just returned from Rochester and tomorrow we will start our program.. We want to be in better shape and strength for hiking.
I hope that you will keep us up to date on your progress
Rosemary

@contentandwell, I, too, am intimidated by the machines. I'm used to a simple treadmill and the walking trail locally. I think it is remarkable that you have found the water exercises work well for you. I am not - and will never be a "hard-core gym-rat".
Rosemary