Does it matter how long it takes to lose ?

Last April I would have been upset to know that I would only have made it halfway to goal by now. Today, I'm thrilled with the progress I've made and planning on taking another 2 years to get to where I want to be. I think coasting down slowly has helped me form habits that stick and overhaul my life a bit at a time without stressing myself. I'm confident that after a full year of new habits and new thinking I can carry on for good.

I lost 160 pounds in a year with no surgery... And I think I look pretty fit.

Very heavy people handle larger deficits well, and I started lifting heavy at about 120 pounds gone.
Do whatever works for you, seeing the scale go down quickly kept me motivated to keep losing, until my behaviors became habits. Which is how I've maintained my weight loss for the past year plus now.

The slower you lose it the better. Don't lose more than 2lbs a week as it will be easy to gain it back again.

I lost 30lb in two months on the Cambridge diet.
I gained back 42lb in six weeks.
I ballooned.

Now I'm losing 1-2lb per week and its staying off. I haven't had any weeks where I gained.
It's taken me 6months to lose 43lb.
And it's great to know I lose every week.