After all the holiday celebrations, do those jeans fit a little to tight? But you've tried all those well-known weight loss techniques, such as eating more vegetables, limiting portions, and exercising more without much success.

Below are six lesser known "Oh wow!" weight loss tips that just might be what you need. Cast aside your disbelief for a moment and read on to see if there is one or two new weight loss ideas that will help you shrink your waist by one or two sizes. Some involve different ways to eat, adding certain foods to your diet, or learning new behavioral strategies to help you stay the course.

Weight Loss Tip #1: Have Barley for Breakfast

Barley got its hunger-fighting reputation after Swedish researchers found that eating barley or rye kernels for breakfast kept blood sugar on an even keel. This is because the carbs in barley and rye kernels have a "low glycemic index," meaning they raise blood sugar more evenly over time than some other carbohydrate foods. This helps you avoid a spike, and then a drop, in blood sugar that can leave you feeling famished.

Hulled barley, not pearl barley, is becoming the new oatmeal. This new trend is based on Swedish researchers studies of minimally processed hulled barley and is not applicable to the more processed forms, such as pearl barley. So, the next time you visit the grocery store, pick up hulled barely for breakfast.

Weight Loss Tip #2: Proteinize Your Lunch Salad

A common mistake dieters make is to eat a vegetable salad with little or no dressing for lunch. To keep you from feeling hungry by mid-afternoon, add some protein and a little fat to that great choice of a salad for lunch.

To keep the mid-afternoon hunger cravings away, top your salad with a three oz piece of chicken and a few tablespoons of light salad dressing. The addition of three oz of chicken plus low fat salad dressing could add 25 grams of protein and just 200 additional calories that is healthier than the vending machine visit mid-afternoon.

Weight Loss Tip #3: Make Yourself a Party Tray

Every party has a big vegetable platter with a light dip on the side. The first party appetizer to be finished is the vegetable platter since everyone grabs one or two each time they walk by.

If you are willing to make a vegetable platter for your friend's party, why not make one for you and your family members. Food that is within reach and prepared is snacked on twice as often as food that requires preparation. Keep it in the fridge at eye level, encouraging you to snack healthy and avoid the higher-calorie contents of your refrigerator.

Weight Loss Tip #4: Downsize Your Dinnerware

Researches say they've seen it again and again: The larger your plate, the more you are likely to put on it. Use this to your advantage and switch the dinner and salad plates so the salad plate is large and the dinner plate small.

Weight Loss Tip #5: Road Trip for Sweets

Make yourself work a little to get your favorite sweet. Do not keep them in the house, but give yourself permission to go out and get them when you really need to. Want a fudge ice cream brownie, then take a trip to the nearest restaurant for a dessert.

The more effort it takes to get a unhealthy snack, the less likely you will eat them. By allowing the road trip, you keep the consideration of deprivation away while you watch your sweets consumption decline.

Weight Loss Tip #6: Try on Your Skinny Jeans Every Friday

Every Friday morning, try on a tight, but not impossible to zip, pair of pants. Make this a Friday morning routine to get you prepared for some of the challenging dieting times over the weekend.

A loose pair of pants make you feel like your positively progressing and more likely to stay motivated over the weekend. Alternatively, if they are too tight then it is time to regroup and become remotivated so they will have a better fit next week.