Due to schedule etc, i have to fit in exercise in the early morning instead of in the middle of the day or late in the evening. I was just wondering if this is less beneficial to weightloss? I know it might seem silly, but it feels less effective as i havent eaten anything at this point, and so seems like i'm not working off any calories?

I would say that when it comes to doing cardio for the purpose of losing fat, doing it first thing in the morning is not only NOT pointless, it's actually the ideal time to do it. Both your blood sugar and muscle glycogen will be at their lowest so any moderate intensity cardio you do under these conditions will burn fat. The problem with doing cardio at any other time of the day is that your blood sugar and muscle glycogen won't be low. So any cardio you do will be driven by blood sugar and glycogen. In fact, it's estimated that if you did cardio in the evening like most people do, your body would not start using stored fat until after 20 minutes. I know a lot of people will say it doesn't matter where calories come from just as long as you're burning them and that it all evens out in the end. But let's say those 20 minutes are spent burning off 100 calories that you took in earlier in the day. Wouldn't it have been easier to just not eat those 100 calories in the first place? I value my time and don't really enjoy exercising. So I would like that time to be spent actually burning fat, not just cancelling out food I ate earlier. The fact that afternoon or evening cardio doesn't immediately burn fat is a big reason why I think people don't see significant results and become frustrated. I used to do cardio in the evening and I saw modest fat loss at best. But when I switched to morning cardio, the fat just started melting off. Of course you're going to have more energy in the evening than when you wake up. And that's why the cardio will seem easier. But don't assume that makes the cardio session more effective. Compare 30 minutes of morning cardio with 30 minutes of evening cardio. If you do it in the morning, 30 minutes are spent burning fat. If you do it in the evening, only 10 minutes are spent burning fat. Seems pretty obvious which is better.

There are plenty of other reasons to do morning cardio. First, it jumpstarts your metabolism. And if you eat small, frequent, high protein meals for the rest of the day, you'll keep your metabolism elevated. Second, it'll put you into a healthy mindset for the rest of the day. I've found that on days I do morning cardio, I eat better for the day because I'll look at food and say to myself, "You started the day off right, but if you eat that donut, you'll cancel out that cardio you did this morning." Another advantage is that you get it over with. Too often, people are tired or have other things to do in the evening. Maybe you have to work late or go to your child's soccer game. At least this way, you've gotten in your daily exercise. It's also been shown that people who do morning cardio are better able to concentrate at work. I read an article that interviewed successful CEOs to find out what they had in common. A lot of them said they exercised in the morning and it made them feel more energized during the day.

By the way, if anyone tells you that morning cardio will cause you to lose muscle, don't pay attention to that. Muscle loss is caused by insufficient caloric intake, insufficient protein intake (protein needs are higher for people who exercise), and leaving long gaps between meals. I've been doing morning cardio for months and have only seen a 1 pound loss of muscle.