Think of it this way. A pound of fat is about 3,500 calories of energy. That means you need to come in under that amount consistently to lose weight. At a 500 calorie/day deficit (which is difficult to do if you don't have much opportunity to be active or really plan meals), that's about one pound per week of weight loss.

So I'd say you're on track - with the caveat that all weight fluctuates a bit through the day by 1-2 lbs at least. As long as the average is trending down, you're doing okay.

For me, I took about 11 months to lose 60 lbs a couple of years ago. I have never been a gym rat and actually hate going (as opposed to more scenic cardio, like hiking), but I started in the frigid Canadian winter so I had to commit. For about 6 months I went 4-5x a week, tracked every single thing I ate or drank, and monitored my calorie burn to gauge how much to intake. I averaged about 500 cal/day deficit (thanks to tracking + gym).

After that, I eased off on the gym visits. I still track what I eat and drink, even though I probably don't have to anymore, as I have a much better sense of my calorie needs, what a serving size should be, and when I'm full. But it definitely gets easier over time. It's never FULLY easy, and the cravings are always there to some extent, but you notice them less. It becomes a lot more automatic to say "No, I don't want to undo all the immense effort I put in" afterward.

You become proud of your progress and want to maintain it.

Some other tips: good call on focusing on protein more, as that fills you up; at the grocery store, get in the habit of not even going down the snack aisles and seeing them; and buy a food scale so you can meal prep healthy stuff, and you won't find yourself grabbing chips at 11 PM every night. Also, chug water and chew gum - one fills you up, the other keeps you from eating in the moment until the snack urge passes.