Long-term low-intensity endurance training is more obvious for slow muscle fibers, and it is not easy to cause muscle hypertrophy caused by active fast muscle fibers. The external muscles of endurance athletes are much thinner than those of explosive sports.
Therefore, I hope that the lower the target intensity of stovepipe or weight loss through running, the better.
If you want to lose weight by running, you can choose jogging. Jogging is a good aerobic exercise, and aerobic exercise will not cause leg thickening. You can see which marathon runners have thick legs, all with thin arms and thin legs. Please be careful, your legs won't get thick after running. The reason why the legs are thick is that the legs are congested and swollen, which is temporary. A little massage will do.
Stretching the calf after exercise is the most important point in shaping. The calf is fully stretched so that the muscles don't pile up together. A simple and effective method: stand with one arm away from the wall, and then hold it with your hands (push-ups with five fingers will be better) so that your body makes a 30-degree angle with the wall. Stick to it for 5 minutes, and the muscles of the calf will be infinitely stretched. In this way, the running legs will become thinner and thinner.
If you just want to lose weight, the daily intake of protein is about 1 g per kilogram of body weight. If you have 60 kilograms, it is good to add 60 grams of protein every day. There is no need to supplement protein. Too much protein is a burden to the kidneys. Whether you eat protein powder or not depends on whether you add enough protein every day. If you just lose weight and don't gain muscle, you don't have to eat protein powder.
I hope I can help you and adopt it.