I dropped 22 pounds at the start of the year (got a little too festive with the holidays). Took me about three months to reach my goal, but I did it by lowering carbs (though not to Atkins like extremes), cutting out fried foods, only having one or two beers a week (and then, Coors Light). The biggest help, though, was waking up before my wife and doing her aerobic tapes (so I wouldn't be laughed at for me lack of dexterity
) and taking the stairs to my office at work instead of the elevators.
It's 13 floors up, so it's a good workout - and I only let myself take the elevator at lunch on Fridays. Even after I lost the weight (and the spare tire), I kept going with the stairs to help keep it off and it's worked miracles. So far this year, I've cimbed up and down over 2200 stories. Yikes!
Good luck! It's frustrating that it takes so long, but it's soooo worth it when the clothes that used to be too tight are now too loose.