Losing a pound a week, staying positive

Not everyone wishes others well in fulfilling their New Year's resolutions.

Giyen Kim has gone from 190 to 186 pounds in four weeks. A doctor says that's "very reasonable."

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On a video that Giyen Kim recently posted on iReport.com about her frustration with trying to lose weight, one user commented, "Who cares how much you have lost you are still a fat a**. Stop eating and go to the gym."

In the past, Kim might have cried and turned to a pint of ice cream for comfort, she reflected. But this time, she hit the gym -- a reaction she views as a revelation.

"I think that when you are doing what you need to be doing, things like that don't matter," she said. See Kim talk about losing weight

Kim, 34, is one of many CNN readers who are using CNN's iReport.com to share frequent updates of progress on their New Year's resolutions. iReport.com: Share your journey to change

Kim started out at 190 pounds on January 1 with the intention of losing about a pound or two a week throughout the year.

Lately she has been cooking more for herself and trying to stay away from foods that have refined carbohydrates. She also tries to eat one vegan meal every day, but still occasionally indulges in bacon, the namesake for her blog Bacon is My Enemy.

She exercises six days a week, mostly cardio, but wants to work on strength training and resistance training. She would also like to take step classes.

o far she's shed four pounds in four weeks, but the pace feels slow compared with her diet regimens in the past, she said. She found that those extreme diet plans were not realistic options in the long run for maintaining a comfortable weight.

Still, Kim maintains a positive outlook on her situation.

"No matter if you get derailed, if you just pick yourself up again and get back on track, it makes a big difference," she said. "If you're in a place of feeling good about yourself, regardless of how your self-image has been in the past, it propels you to go forward."

Dr. Melina Jampolis, a physician nutrition specialist from San Francisco, California, said losing a pound per week is very reasonable. At most, Kim could probably lose an additional half-pound to pound a week, "but any more than that and she would probably be losing water weight and muscle," Jampolis said.

Jampolis recommends that Kim keep a daily journal of what she eats, and review it to see where she might be able to cut 50 to 100 calories, and where there might be hidden calories in her diet. Kim should also make sure she is varying the intensity, duration, and type of workout, Jampolis said.

"As she loses weight and becomes more fit, she is burning fewer calories doing the same thing, so it is critical to change things up," Jampolis said.

But generally Kim's current pace is great -- "At that rate, she will be down another 20 pounds by summer!" Jampolis said.

As far as Kim's professional goals, she has secured an interim position at a non-profit organization, and continues to do video blogs for Momversation.com.

The market for freelance writers is tough, particularly with many newspapers struggling, she said. Still, Kim is optimistic about following her dream to become a writer.

"I'm not optimistic about our economic future as a country, but as far as me and my journey to find happiness, and accomplish some of these goals that I've had -- weight loss and following my writing passion -- absolutely, I'm still really positive about it," she said.