freelancemomma and JohnP pretty much said it all.
But honestly, it doesn't matter how fast your losing. If your doing it in a healthy way, then your fine. Weight generally comes off pretty fast when you start out, but the less you have to lose, the more stubborn those last few pounds are.
And YES lift weights. Weight isn't as important as body composition and you don't want to end up skinny fat. It'll slow the scale numbers down on the scale, but you'll still be losing body fat...
Good luck