@sjcostanza wrote:
Running is a very inefficient way to lose weight. For faster weight loss, you should try a weightlifting regimen mixed with interval training. In simple terms, the added muscle from lifting will speed up your metabolism and improve your body composition. Interval training burns more calories in a shorter period of time than steady-state cardio, and you will continue to burn calories hours after you finish. Running long distances actually causes your body to enter "starvation mode", and doesn't allow you to convert stored fat into energy. You can do interval training with most any piece of equipment (treadmill, bike, eliptical, jump rope, etc). Just remember, the intensity of your exercise is more important than the duration. Going full-bore with a jump rope for 15 minutes will do more for fat loss than a 10 mile run.
Any exercise is an inefficient way to lose weight, studies have shown that up, without diet involved eating levels go up, sometimes more than you burn. And that actually happens more on lifting - because body wants surplus to improve because of workload.
Diet is for weight loss, done right only fat loss, done wrong includes muscle mass loss.
Exercise is for heart health and body improvement, done right supports just fat loss, done wrong encourages muscle mass loss.
So the running would just be increasing the daily burn, meaning you take your 500 cal deficit off, you are eating more. So it can be useful in that regard, letting you eat more, which could mean better adherance.
But to your point, the lifting is going to help retain muscle mass, the running won't (except legs). If deficit is reasonable though, it wouldn't cause more than what would happen anyway diet alone with no exercise.
But you aren't going to get much added muscle from lifting while in a deficit at all, maybe up to a pound if you do progressive overload fast and hit limits with existing muscle, and still have a good amount of fat to lose. But muscle only burns 6 cal / lb / day, the increase to metabolism isn't that great. When being used of course it's better.
Not sure how fast you think you can enter starvation mode, but it takes 72 hrs of actual fasting for the body to start adapting, what you seem to be implying just isn't going to happen unless you have unreasonable deficit, in which case that effect can happen without the running, and could happen with the lifting too.
And not converting fat to energy - that doesn't change with starvation mode. Changes with actual starving, but that's actual starving, like not eating, or eating 200 calories daily. Starvation mode doesn't change the fuel energy is pulled from. If doing hard intervals - 100 % carbs on hard part, probably 50% fat on easy part. If doing slow cardio - fat perhaps around 50%.
The interval training done right after lifting is indeed better than just slow cardio, but you don't even need to do cardio if doing the lifting, except for perhaps heart health.
If you have the time, just lift more, skip the intervals. Just do your 20 min warm-down cardio after lifting.
Now the intervals would be useful again to increase daily burn enough that you could eat more - perhaps making compliance easier.
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