Vent away.. I think thats the downside to this approach is remembering that quick losses arent sustainable. So for sure you could probably drop the 30 pounds in say 6 months... but by the time that 18 month mark hits.. you wil have gained a good portion, if not all back, right?... So at least this way, you can KNOW that in 18 months, you WILL be 30 pounds lighter:)

Just what I would have said. You could starve yourself and be at your goal by Christmas but then come spring the pounds would probably be creeping back on again. It must be frustrating at times going at a slow pace but you're going in the right direction and once those pounds are gone they wont be coming back. You're doing great so keep it up

2 lbs/ a month is still 2 lbs off your knees/ joints and 2 lbs of fat that don't put strain on your heart. Also, the slow losses mean that you're getting adequate nutrition and you're not stressing out your kidneys by losing too fast.
Sure, 2 lbs seems very slow slow, but slow losers are less likely to rebound because you learn new habits as you go. A lot of us here used to be yo-yo or crash dieters, and we are very used to fast results, so I get how this can be very discouraging. Unfortunately, this is a life-long journey, so focus on how you feel rather than on what the scale says.
Are you also lifting and working out strenuously? If yes, take measurements and pictures, and keep a diary of your progress. If not, I highly encourage you to start working out, and take measurements and pictures. The scale tells me that I'm borderline overweight, yet I fit in the clothes that used to fit when I was 30 lbs lighter and borderline underweight, so don't just look at your weight. I've lost a grand total of 0.2 lbs in the past 8 weeks, but I've lost 2 sizes, I ran a half marathon quite comfortably, and I can deadlift 50lbs more than my BW. More importantly, in the past 6 months I lost the all or nothing mentality, and I finally feel at ease with my body and my eating habits.

Well I only had 20 lbs to lose before I started this. I lopst 40 doing the South Beach and have been able to maintain it for a year now minus the few pounds I gained going this approach. I have been doing this since May with zero results, did reset for 6 weeks then cut. I workout 4 times a week, 2 days upper and 2 days lower with the Bowflex and have only seen a little toning but nothing else. So this week I started adding cardio to see if that will help any, gonna walk 2 miles a day when I'm off and 1 mile when I work. I am at the right cut which is 1-3 hours of exercise. I am wondering if I am burning more during the day then I think but I doubt it bc I pretty much sit at my job and I work 12 hours, one week I work 2 days and the other 5 days. I am hoping to get a fitbit here soon so I can see things more clearly and that might help. I am too the point of lowering down to 1600 or 1500 just to lose the last 20 and then start over to just maintain and build muscle.