But despite being beneficial for cardiac health, circulation, mental health, and other areas of personal health, exercise has long been known to be ineffective as a weight-loss method.22 It simply doesn’t burn enough calories to lead to significant weight loss, and many types of physical activity lead to an increase in muscle mass—which won’t lower the number on the scale. And on top of that, many of us eat more after working out, offsetting the few calories we just burned.
