Whether you're trying to power through a weight loss plateau or just looking for a way to jumpstart your weight loss journey, these 10 tips are sure to help you shed excess weight fast!

1. Serve dinner on the stove
   A recent study has shown that women who leave serving dishes on the stove eat nearly 10% less during dinnertime than women who bring those serving dishes to the table.
   
2. Eat out of smaller containers 
   It's been shown in several studies that people who eat meals off of large plates consume up to 61% more food per meal than those who eat on smaller plates. Smaller containers make serving sizes look larger, which helps your body realize it's full much quicker and prevents overeating.
   
3. Make breakfast sweeter!
   In a 2012 study at the Tel Aviv University Medical Center, researchers found that dieters who included something sweet in their breakfasts lost about 37 pounds more over eight months than people on equal-calorie diets who ate smaller, low-carb breakfasts. Skinny Blend shakes are great for breakfast, and they add sweetness without excess calories!
   
4. Skip the commercials
   Strangely enough, skipping commercials while watching television can help boost your weight loss. Images of high calorie foods (which usually appear on television commercials) stimulate the appetite control center in your brain, which triggers hunger.
   
5. FLEX!
   A 2011 study in the Journal of Consumer Research showed that flexing a muscle for 30 seconds when you have a food craving can actually increase your impulse control.
   
6. Go cold turkey 
   We've all been guilty of overindulging when we crave something sweet, but studies have shown that eating half a slice of deli turkey after a sweet treat can help keep you from wanting more.
   
7. Be realistic about your goals 
   Everyone has those moments of intense determination where it seems entirely possible to lose 20 pounds in 3 weeks; however, setting overly ambitious goals can actually hurt you in the long run. By setting attainable goals and working consciously toward those each day, you can increase your chances of achieving them.
   
8. Have an appetizer 
   Barbara Rolls, a professor of nutritional science at Penn State, suggests eating a bowl of vegetable soup before lunch can help decrease the amount of calories you consume during the meal by 20%.
   
9. Keep things in moderation
   Keep in mind that even healthy foods like hummus and almond butter have serving sizes and are only healthy when you adhere to those. Healthy foods are no longer healthy when you overindulge.
   
10. Swap out butter for oil 
    Replacing butter with olive oil in recipes can help decrease the amount of saturated and trans fats you consume at each meal. At the same time, putting olive oil on plain bread instead of butter can reduce the amount of bread you consume by 23% and the calories you consume by 16%, according to a 2003 study in the International Journal of Obesity. 

For more weight loss tips and ideas, visit the Skinny Jane Weight Loss Blog!