Setting weight loss goals is one of the most common practices among people who want to lose weight, but few people do it in a way that makes them more likely to succeed. Below we've compiled some excellent tips for setting effective weight loss goals, and the reasons why you should do so.

First, the benefits of setting weight loss goals:

• You'll have a clear idea of what you want to achieve.
• You'll have a clear plan of action for achieving it.
• You'll have fewer opportunities for excuses.
• You'll be more motivated to stick with your plan long-term.
• You'll be able to see your progress clearly along the way.

There are other benefits to setting weight loss goals, but those are some of the best ones. Next let's cover how to set weight loss goals and follow through with them:

Enjoying a few alcoholic drinks each week is a common practice for many people, and experts agree that moderate alcohol consumption is safe for healthy people. However, if you are trying to lose weight you may want to know a few things about how alcohol affects your metabolism.

When you want to lose weight, it can be tempting to drop your calorie intake extremely low. Most people reason that the less they eat the faster they'll lose weight, but this is definitely not true.

If you've ever been tempted to do this, take a look at the following important reasons why eating less than 1000 calories is a waste of time.

When you want to lose weight, you may immediately start thinking about "strategies and tactics" you can use to "battle the bulge," so to speak. While many of these strategies may work just fine for weight loss, it's important to keep in mind the benefits of eating a balanced diet, rather than JUST focusing on weight loss.

Walking is one of the best forms of exercise to promote weight loss and overall good health.

Here are 5 good reasons why:

1) Walking elevates your heart rate.

Cardiovascular exercise is an excellent way to elevate your heart rate, boost your metabolism, and burn calories. In order to reap the greatest health benefits, you need to walk briskly - not just stroll along slowly. Starting out at a slower pace is a good idea, to allow the body to warm up and avoid injury. Then gradually increase your speed so you are moving along at a nice pace, not quite running but definitely hustling a little bit.

When you're trying to lose weight, it's easy to fall into a rut with your meal plans because it seems like there are so few foods that you're allowed to eat. However, if you just get a little creative, you can come up with dozens of delicious and easy low calorie meals.

One of these creative dishes may surprise you: sandwiches! Eating sandwiches to lose weight? Wait -- what??

You may be used to thinking of sandwiches as being high in calories, and it's true that some are. But they don't HAVE to be.

Here are 4 secrets to making your sandwiches low calorie and delicious:

One of the major challenges that dieters face these days is falling into a "yo-yo" cycle. "Yo yo" dieting means going on and off diets constantly; losing weight, gaining weight, trying this new diet, then quitting; then trying another diet, then quitting, and so on. Most yo-yo dieters don't intend to do that, but they can't seem to help it.

If you are one of these yo yo dieters, you'll be interested to learn that there is an easy, FAST way to stop yo yo dieting for good. You may not like the way it sounds at first, but I promise it will make a lot of sense once I explain it. Before I do that, let me ask you a question.

What do you think is the one thing that makes a person quit a diet?

When you're trying to lose weight, it may sometimes seem like everything in your life is conspiring against you and making it more difficult to reach your goal. The truth is, there are many external distractions that make it virtually impossible to stay focused on your weight loss goals.

Here are two to watch out for:

Many Hollywood celebrities have a personal trainer who helps motivate them to stay in shape. The drawbacks of hiring a personal trainer? Having one doesn't come cheap and you have to work your schedule around their schedule. There's a way for you to get your own personal trainer when you want one - and unlike the big bucks shelled out by wealthy Hollywood stars, it won't cost you even one cent!

You can lose weight, get into great shape and you don't even have to leave the comfort of your own home to do it. Instead of running off to a gym to keep an appointment with a personal trainer, you can have one come to you via your own computer screen or delivered right to your iPod/iPad.

Persistent hunger pangs are enough to make even the strongest dieter want to quit - that hollow, empty, growling feeling in the pit of your stomach is not only distracting but annoying!

You'll be glad to know that there are many good ways to stop feeling hungry while dieting, and we've rustled up five great ones to share with you today: