Im trying to lose some weight and so ive decided to run a lot. Right now im currently running 2.5 miles a day. My question is would I burn more fat by doing my run in a slow jog rather than keeping up a quick pace? Ive heard that when trying to lose weight you want your heart rate to be at a lower rate.

Well... the best way to lose fat is to lift weights, eat right, and have a good cardio workout. Since you only mentioned the latter, that is what I will focus on.

The fastes way to lose fat is through High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). This is especially popular with people who lift weights as it tends to help them keep muscle better than a slow jog would. In case you are wondering, HIIT is where you will do a normal warm up and cool down but for your exercise you will alternate between max intensity and a relatively relaxing recouperating period. So for running, it would be something like jog for 45 seconds and then sprint ALL OUT for 15 seconds. When those 15 seconds are over, you shouldn't be able to maintain the same speed anymore and will need to drop down to the slower speed.

HIIT is great at losing fat and a few other things, but it doesn't help the heart and lungs in the same way that a 2 or 3 mile run does. So I usually suggest doing the running unless you are very concerned about losing muscle. Or the best is that you do some long running AND some HIIT with your diet and weight programs.

How long should you do this for? I doubt that if im sprinting all out that I will be able to do it as long as I would normally running.

like kalrog said, sprint 15 seconds, then jog 45, then sprint 15, then jog 45 etc. do this cycle until you get too tired, or aim to repeat it for 10 cycles, or for 10 minutes etc.

I would recommend HIIT on off weight training days and normal-paced jog on weight training days.

The thing about HIIT is it continues to burn calories AFTER your session. And as you may already know, running boosts your metabolism,,, aids in fat loss etc. etc.

Okay, the HI part should only last about 15 seconds, right? And then 45 seconds at a jog. What do you suggest for a minoralteration for someone just starting out. I cannot jog for long, but I do walk briskly/quickly. Will this suffice (at least for now) between the HI & LI? Once I lose some weight, I can add some actual running to build endurance!

the program i mentioned is very hard - i myself couldnt manage more than 6 cycles the other day but Im just starting out as well.

If like you say, you cannot even jog for periods of time yet, I would forget HIIT, and just go jogging. HIIT is much harder than jogging, and eventually both should be combined together.

but for know go jogging 3 times a week if you can, build up your time from 2 or 3 minutes if necessary, until you can jog for 30 minutes.

Then move on to HIIT. (sprint, jog sprint, jog etc)

As I assume most will agree, it is best to balance advice from people of unknown expertice with that of trained professionals (of which there are some in this group it appears). This seems like a great place for information, support and ideas but I'm sure glad I belong to a good health club with resources of qualified trainers. My fear is that someone can take advice here (or somewhere else) that could be a danger to their health.

All the best in your efforts.

David

With interval training, you control the intervals. Try 5-10 second sprint or higher intensity exercise. Then take a minute or 90 seconds of recovery.