Best for losing weight - long run or interval run?

[R.O.S.S.I]

Just wondering if anyone with a better idea of training can help me decide what I should be concentrating on more in the gym.

I want to lose weight and don't mind getting on the treadmill however have had a couple of people say I should aim to just run solidly at a constant pace (slight variation) and some people telling me interval training on a treadmill will burn fat quicker.

I'm not marathon runner and can barely manage 10KM but take these for example which would be better for me the lose weight

Ex 1) Interval sprints for 30 mins - 1min @ 6.5KM and 2min @ 10.5KM

OR

Ex 2) Constant run for 30 mins - starting at 9.0KM upping to 10.5KM over the 30 mins.

Now am I right in thinking that the constant run is going to be better for me in terms of fat loss over the 30 mins and the interval would only be better if I did it for longer?

 

[R.O.S.S.I]

Ok so my intervals need to be more intense to get the most out of it.

Does it matter on the interval time? Should I be doing things in 1 min bursts or 30 second?

I'm about 14st, overweight, wanting to lose 1st-2st, need to shift the love handles and gut!

Incidentally yesterday at the gym my girlfriend suggested we do a 10 min routine of 2 min 6KMPH walk then 30 secs on and off at 12.5KMPH 8 times. Does that sound like the kind of thing we should be doing?

Then we did 100 lunges per leg with weights (10 sets of 10), then some interval work on a spinning bike then 100 squats with weights (10 sets of 10).

The Mrs follows that Joe Wicks plan so I just do what she is doing some days but more often than not I concentrate more on cardio in some form. I also do a Boxfit class most weeks and try and book in for 30 mins 1-2-1 boxing too with the trainers at our gym which I find to be a great workout too.

 

[R.O.S.S.I]

At this stage the focus you're devoting to the intricacies of which style of running training you should be doing would be better spent on addressing your diet and ensuring you maintain a calorie deficit.

I do. I eat very well, all food is cooked fresh, have pretty much 0 sugar apart from naturally occurring, plenty of veg, drink lots of water. Diet is fine for about 95% of the week when I may have a beer on a Saturday night or a pizza. Everything I eat is healthy I would say.

I tend to have a protein shake every day (rightly or wrongly) even if i'm not training as I've found it to help me with dieting in the past and deal with feeling hungry.

 

[R.O.S.S.I]

Thanks for all your input guys, definitely some things for me to think about.

I do run further than 5KM and have done up to 10KM on occasion which is me generally starting with a couple mins at 6KM then up to 8.5KM then to 9.5KM and being on 10.5KM-11KM by the end. I do find that going any faster than 11.5KM I begin to start to feel a twinge in my knee which I imagine could be the fast route to an injury if I cain the HIIT.

Its interesting though as there are different opinions in this thread, some of you are saying the HIIT will be better for me for weight loss and some are saying longer sustained running will be more beneficial.

I see some people in the gym banging the machines on 19KMPH or whatever the fastest is and then running like a loon for about 30 secs to a minute then jumping to the sides for a rest and then jumping back on again, looks pretty dangerous!

I should note that this weight loss has been part of a longer weight loss target for me. I was 17st about 3-4 years ago. I've gotten down to 14st through diet and various exercise and kinda settled at about 14.5st for a year but now I want to try and get down to below 13st. Every time i've tried i've got to 14st and then hit a bit of a stumbling block and not maintained the diet or exercise. But this time I'm making a concerted effort to get through it now. I was down to 13st 11lb the other week but I went on hols for a week and indulged over Easter so haven't checked the scales again haha, but I have been back at the gym every day since Monday. So will check my weight progress again on Monday morning!