HOW have you gotten successful?

For me it has been having my husband doing this with me. We both hold each other accountable (with food and exercise) which is great. Sometimes just knowing that he is going to go running is all the motivation that I need to get off my butt and go with him. I know that I could probably do this without him, but I know that it is SOOOO much easier having him doing this with me.

Calorie counting, cardio 4 days a week, and strength training 3 days a week. It worked for me, anyway.

Okay, so you're counting calories...is that it?
What are your secrets?
I see so many people losing weight so quickly - is calorie counting really all it is?
As this is day 5 I would love some tips and tricks to be one of these success stories!!

If you spend enough time reading through the "Success Stories" you'll see that different things have worked for different people.

Here's mine: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/572262-300-consecutive-days-of-mfp-w-pics-almost-60-pounds-lost

The one common thread that I think all of the success stories have is limiting caloric intake and adding at least some exercise to help along the way.

In terms of how quickly people have lost weight (I am sure some will disagree), I think rests more with the level of committment and determination the person has. I have never paid much attention to watching sodium intake, water retention, eating clean, whole food diet, watching carbs etc.

The one thing I did learn (again, it worked for me) is I altered my regular food intake to lower my calories such as having tortilla-less tacos, eating lettuce wrapped burgers etc. Looking at my food intake might lead one to believe I'm on some sort of low carb diet, but I am not watching carbs, I watch how caloricly expensive items are and make cuts where I can. Unfortunately for breads, they tend to be the easiest to cut out.