Running before breakfast is a perfect time to fit in your fitness before the busy day starts. It’s a little time for you before the hectic morning of rushing the kids to school and getting to work.

While it might seem like extra effort (surely sleep is more enjoyable than running in the cold dark morning, right?). It is a fantastic way to start the day on the front foot, get that positive vibe going before eating anything. I bet it will even impact what you chose to eat as your first meal of the day.

Still not sure if running before breakfast is for you? Check out a few other benefits and you may just change your mind.

Running before breakfast can help with weight loss

Your body is amazing, and it pulls energy from everything you eat that is readily available even before your morning workout. When we eat before exercise, the stored form of carbs (glycogen) from your last evening meal waits in the muscles and liver to help power through the morning miles.

But because the body uses some of this glycogen storage for sleep, there is less available to get us through when we wake up. So if you head out for your run before ‘topping up’ that glycogen storage (i.e., before breakfast), your body will find the energy elsewhere.

‘Where?’ I hear you ask. Your body also stores fat naturally, perfect for a low-intensity cardio session, like your morning jog. So your body will resort to fat stores to help you through morning miles rather than glycogen or carbohydrate stores.

Essentially, studies showed those who work out on an empty stomach burn more fat than those who have eaten simply because your body will run on its fat stores – pun intended.

So if you’re planning a speed, HIIT, or interval session, opt for a morning snack like a banana or bagel to top up your glycogen levels and give you that power boost fat can’t quite give you.

Running just after coffee but before breakfast can give you a boost

It’s proven that caffeine can boost your run time, so running up that hill in the morning after a quick espresso can provide you with much-needed energy when consumed about an hour before you head out.

Drinks containing caffeine, like energy drinks as well as tea and coffee, most certainly increase alertness alongside performance enhancement – why do you think most athletes incorporate caffeine into their exercise routine?

The health benefits continue way past lunch

Heard of the after-burn? Your body continues to burn calories and starts its recovery earlier in the day. You might be hungrier at lunch, but your body is so busy bringing you back to a pre-exercise state. This will mean you’ll be more tired when you go to sleep, improving your sleep quality.

You make healthier choices throughout the day

People often think I’m lying about this until they see it themselves! If you run after work/in the evening, it’s common to think, ‘Ah I’ll eat that chocolate bar at lunch because I can run it off later .’

But when you jog in the morning with your running shoes, it’s like you don’t want to ‘wreck’ the work you’ve already done, so the chocolate doesn’t even come to mind. Instead, you choose fruit, healthier bread, hummus, or bean burrito.

I find myself hungrier throughout the day when I run in the morning, and that’s great! I’m giving my body the energy it needs by eating more often and making healthier choices – it’s all burning off anyway (remember the after-burn part?).

Your body is recovering and using all the nutrients you eat to repair your muscles post-workout.

Have an evening to yourself

Now, this is why I got into morning miles – before the hectic start to the day, I have 45 minutes to myself, in the quiet, in the blissful silence of the waking Forrest.

I feel like the only person in the world who is awake (of course, I know it’s not true), but it’s a little ‘me time’, to think about the day, plan ahead or even burn off some nervous energy ahead of the working day. It’s the ‘self-care’ time we neglect all too often.

Imagine putting on running shoes in the evening. You get home from work at around 6 pm. Grab a snack to head out the door. You come back after an average of 5 miles at 7pm. Shower and walk the dog and help the kids with their homework. Before you know it, it’s 8pm, and you haven’t eaten yet!

This is where you choose something quick, easy, and often not nutritious or eat well, but late and struggle to sleep.

Why is it that there aren’t enough hours in the day? Run in the morning, and you gain a few. And have an evening to yourself, with your family, to unwind and relax.

Remember, running first thing in the morning isn’t for everyone (and that’s okay!)

This was me before my big 30th birthday. I don’t know what it was, but I could never wake up and work out. It didn’t seem logical – I needed about two cups of coffee to feel ‘human’ and talk.

So don’t force it – we’re meant to enjoy exercise; we love running and don’t want it to become a chore, so please follow what makes sense. The important thing is to enjoy it.

Although to get me to change my tune, a friend said, “Wake up and run before your brain figures out what it is doing.” And it worked like a charm. Just lean forward and keep putting one foot in front of the other.