Welcome to Walking the Walk, a feature that takes a deeper look at commonly shared diet and fitness advice. Every other week, I'll choose one piece of advice and practice it for seven days. Then I'll report back on what I discovered about making it work in real life and how it affected my own personal fitness -- and how it ultimately can affect your own efforts.

When it comes to late night snacking, the jury is still out on whether or not it helps with weight loss. As Maggie recently pointed out, many experts believe a calorie is just a calorie, no matter what time of day that you eat it.

Over at AOL Health, Bob Greene shares his seven habits of successful weight loss. One of Bob's best known tips, possibly because he shared it with Oprah, is to choose a closing time for your kitchen. In other words, put a stop to late-night snacking. His theory is that if you overdo at breakfast or lunch, you've got time to burn a few of those extra calories off. But if you overdo near bedtime ... well, you can't sleep it off, now can you?

I agree with the idea that a calorie is just a calorie. But as Bob suggests, and as Maggie also points out in this post, late-night snacks tend to be more of the chips and dip variety, eaten mindlessly in front of the TV, rather than a carrot or an apple. That's emotional eating, and getting a handle on emotional eating is one of Bob's seven tips for success.

Bob suggests setting your kitchen closing time for sometime after dinner, usually 7 PM. Since we eat an early dinner, I'll be closing my kitchen at 6 PM this week to cut back on late night snacks and see if this is a tip that really can affect weight loss. Fingers crossed.

Did anyone catch yesterday's Oprah? The queen of Daytime (and pretty much everything else) was talking about her recent weight gain and how she was going to undo all of the extra pounds in the upcoming year. Of course, Oprah's own fitness and diet guru Bob Greene was on the show, and he challenged viewers to figure out the real reasons they're overweight -- love of food not included.

So, be honest with yourself and take some time to thoughtfully answer these questions:

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Oprah Winfrey is the most successful woman in the world, but as she told her millions of viewers on yesterday's show, "it doesn't mean anything if you can't control your eating [and] fit into your clothes ... I can't believe that with all the accomplishments, I'm still talking about weight." She's talking, of course, about her recent revelation that she's gained back all the weight she worked so hard to lose.

What went wrong? Oprah has a bunch of reasons for her weight loss. Her recent thyroid problem, for instance, caused stress, and she spent a portion of the past year feeling depressed and sleep-deprived -- that's when cravings tend to get the best of someone. But ultimately, it came down to loving her body. "Your overweight body doesn't crave food," she says. "It craves love."

Oprah plans on losing the weight again by following these rules of thumb:

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Did anyone watch the episode of Oprah the other day where she featured a bunch of people who had lost literally hundreds of pounds? I did, but only half-heatedly -- it was on in the background while I worked away. Even so, it was pretty inspiring -- I'm always amazed when people manage to completly change their life and their habits. Don't you agree?

The show featured Oprah's favourite trainer Bob Greene and he said something that really caught my ear:

If you don't work out, you have to eat perfectly all the time. If you don't eat perfectly, you have to work out (or something to that effect)

I think he hit the nail on the head with this one -- so few of us are perfect eaters all the time, so it's important that we get some activity to burn off those extra calories, even is it's just a few extra calories. Although I think exercise is a important for everyone even when they're not trying to lose pounds. Your thoughts?

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Exercise physiologist Bob Greene, Oprah's fitness trainer, had a few things to say about combating childhood obesity while in Toronto last week. He believes parents can make a significant difference. Here are few of his insights from over a dozen questions posed:

• Where do we start - with eating habits or exercise? Bob strongly feels activity is the bigger problem. Most studies reveal we're eating 2 or 3 percent more, but moving 16 percent less.
• How can parents get their kids to eat well and be active? Bob simply says parents need to emulate the healthy behaviors themselves.
• How do you get kids off the computer and outside? Bob recommends parents plan active family time. Don't just send kids outside to play, plan active weekends, take a walk and play catch with them yourself.
• Does Oprah's yo-yo weight set a bad example for kids? Bob stated that 93 percent of anyone who has lost 50 lbs gains it back within five years. Bob can recall Oprah only gaining 20 pounds two different times in the last 12 years.

Bob Greene's common sense insights will produce more than just healthy kids -- his suggestions positively impact the entire family unit. Whether your children are infants or college students, kids pay attention to their parents' food and exercise behaviors. Actions truly speak louder than words when it comes to influencing your kids to make healthier choices. Studies cite we are moving 16 percent less -- pretty revealing statistic to me.

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Throughout the years, we've watched daytime Diva Oprah as she's struggled with her weight over and over again. It's no secret how she gets in shape -- with help from her nutrition expert and personal trainer Bob Greene, but want to know exactly what she eats to lose and maintain her shape? Click here for a look at a recent Woman's World article on the healthy habits of Lady O. Here are some key tips:

• Eat on a regular schedule so you don't get overwhelmed by hunger and go on a binge.
  
• Increase your intake of protein, fiber and good fats.
  
• Exercise.
  
• Drink lots of water.
  

I think Oprah's a great role model who gives sound advice, regardless of her own personal struggles. What do you think? If Oprah someone you would take weight-loss advice from, or are you skeptical because of her own yo-yoing weight?

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Oprah Winfrey's struggle with weight loss is one of the most well-known celebrity diets out there. Lately, she looks great. So how does she do it? Well, having a large entourage of personal chef, trainers and assisstants behind her can't hurt, but she credits her body to one person, her personal trainer Bob Greene. This article talks to Bob Greene about his weight-loss philosophies. In it, Greene ackonowledges that there are three important components to weight loss -- in addition to diet and exercise, emotions play a large role in our bodies. The key is to stop beating ourselves up over our bodies -- it takes confidence to lose weight, and we only lose confidence when we berate ourselves.

What do you think of Greene's weight loss philosophies?

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