Research
Mixed
Combining diet and exercise is preferable to diet alone because it preserves fat-free mass and improves cardiorespiratory fitness, whereas diet alone reduces fat-free mass.
If you are losing weight postpartum, combine diet with exercise. Dieting alone might cause you to lose muscle mass, while adding exercise helps maintain your muscle and improves your heart health, making the weight loss more beneficial for your long-term health.
GoodSupportsMEDIUM confidence
it may be preferable to lose weight through a combination of diet and exercise as this improves maternal cardiorespiratory fitness and preserves fat-free mass, while diet alone reduces fat-free mass.
Why this rating
Based on Cochrane review conclusions, though direct comparison trials were limited (one trial for diet vs diet+exercise).
Source
Diet or exercise, or both, for weight reduction in women after childbirth
Amanda Rodrigues Amorim Adegboye et al. · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · 2013
Meta-analysis · 14 studiesCited 313×
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