It is not a waste of time.

Cardio burns calories while you are doing it and stimulates the slow twich muscle fibers that are used while doing cardio. Think dark meat on a chicken. Over time you will lean out as you shed fat. Unstimulated fast twitch muscle fiber will be depleted of glycogen and water, thus become less active and reduce in size. The cardio does wonders for blood sugar regulation if that is a concern. It also seriously improves cardio-pulmonary endurance and stamina. This is an awesome benefit for any athletic endeavor you enjoy doing, including lifting.

Resistence training does burn calories while you are doing, but not at the same rate as cardio. It stimulates the fast twitch muscle fibers used, thus encouraging the body to prime the muscle for continued action (storing glycogen and water). This encourages the body to use fat for energy rather than the readily available glycogen in muscle. The muscle has a fuller appearance and you notice it sooner as you lean out your body. Additionally the body burns more calories at rest while the muscle tissue undergoes the post workout recovery process, increasing your resting metabolic rate. This requires heavy lifting to fully stimulate and only continues when you lift on a regular basis.

So they do different things. Neglecting either is to neglect an effective tool in your fitness toolkit.

Other points -
Eat your Exercise calories (or at least 80%) of them. They are essential for the recovery process.
You will continue to lose weight. The scale will move slower, but you will still lose weight. It may be 3 to 5 pounds a month, but the scale will move.
More significantly, the tape measure will move. Track thighs, hips, waist, and chest on a regular basis. Whether the scale is moving or not, these should over the course of a month. If not, then time to tweak something.

I know I have kind of posted about this before, but I have about 52lbs to lose before I hit my first goal weight. I know that is a lot. Am I wasting my time lifting weights at this time? Should I be focusing more on cardio for fat loss? I have lost 17lbs in 2 months so far with a combination of exercise, diet and IF, but could increasing cardio help push fat loss along? I am lifting 3 days a week and am doing some walking, jogging, kettlebells or bike riding on the other 4 days. I am feeling more muscle develop and clothes are fitting a bit better, but I am eager for that number on the scale to go down. Eventually the scale will move lower as fat decreases and muscle increases right? Im not talking immediately, but eventually?

It sounds like what you are doing is working well so if it aint broken why fix it..If your goal is improved body composition as well as long term improvements in health and quality of life then weight training is the furthest thing from a waste of time.

It is not a waste of time.

Cardio burns calories while you are doing it and stimulates the slow twich muscle fibers that are used while doing cardio. Think dark meat on a chicken. Over time you will lean out as you shed fat. Unstimulated fast twitch muscle fiber will be depleted of glycogen and water, thus become less active and reduce in size. The cardio does wonders for blood sugar regulation if that is a concern. It also seriously improves cardio-pulmonary endurance and stamina. This is an awesome benefit for any athletic endeavor you enjoy doing, including lifting.

Resistence training does burn calories while you are doing, but not at the same rate as cardio. It stimulates the fast twitch muscle fibers used, thus encouraging the body to prime the muscle for continued action (storing glycogen and water). This encourages the body to use fat for energy rather than the readily available glycogen in muscle. The muscle has a fuller appearance and you notice it sooner as you lean out your body. Additionally the body burns more calories at rest while the muscle tissue undergoes the post workout recovery process, increasing your resting metabolic rate. This requires heavy lifting to fully stimulate and only continues when you lift on a regular basis.

So they do different things. Neglecting either is to neglect an effective tool in your fitness toolkit.

Other points -
Eat your Exercise calories (or at least 80%) of them. They are essential for the recovery process.
You will continue to lose weight. The scale will move slower, but you will still lose weight. It may be 3 to 5 pounds a month, but the scale will move.
More significantly, the tape measure will move. Track thighs, hips, waist, and chest on a regular basis. Whether the scale is moving or not, these should over the course of a month. If not, then time to tweak something.

Very well said. Completely agree with you!