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.

I'm intrigued by a low GI (glycemic index) diet, because I get hungry about two hours after I eat a meal, and snacking is what gets me in trouble. Experts say that choosing low GI foods helps to stabilize blood sugar levels, keeping dieters full longer.

What is the glycemic index? It's basically a numerical system that ranks foods on their ability to raise a person's blood sugar. Some foods -- white potatoes, for one -- cause blood sugar to spike quickly, earning them a higher number on the scale. While other foods, such as beans or legumes, ease blood sugar up slowly and sustain it for longer periods of time.

Some experts theorize that a low GI diet can help with weight loss. When you're constantly eating foods that spike blood sugar levels, the body creates excess insulin, which increases fat storage.

I'm going to try it out this week, aiming to make most of my meals with foods that are ranked as "low" on the glycemic index.

Day 1: Oh Cheerios. My beloved breakfast -- a small bowl of Cheerios piled high with frozen blueberries -- is the first thing to go. With a glycemic index ranking of 74, they're out. I try blueberries on oatmeal instead. It's good, but it could use some sugar. Somehow, I suspect that would defeat the purpose.

In fact, while looking for some information on the glycemic load of Cheerios, I discovered that even after this week is over, I might want to make the switch to oatmeal a permanent one. Cheerios -- while being one of the healthier processed cereals out there -- is still less nutritious than oatmeal, a "whole" food.

Maybe I could get used to oatmeal and blueberries after all.

My first day in the Zone went smoothly. As I shared yesterday, I'm spending a week eating mostly low-glycemic carbohydrates, lean proteins and heart-healthy fats to head into the Zone, and hopefully, down a path toward more energy, less brain fog, maybe even skinnier jeans.

I've been flipping through my old Zone cookbooks and re-educated myself on the ratios of proteins/carbs/fats in a Zone-favorable meal. If you'd like to Zone in, here's the ratio broken down into blocks (e.g., units):

• 1 block of Zone protein equals 7 grams of protein
  
• 1 block of Zone carbohydrate equals 9 grams of carbohydrates
• 1 block of Zone fat equals 1.5 grams of fat
  

From experience, you have to choose low-glycemic carbohydrates (typically vegetables and fruits) to stay in the Zone. Fill your plate with one-third protein (no bigger than the palm of your hand), two-thirds low-glycemic carbohydrates and a dash of heart-healthy fats. Eat too much high-glycemic bread/pasta and good luck hitting the Zone. One of my all-time favorite Zone meals is Mexicali Turkey Chili. This super-quick recipe yields six cups for a perfect ratio chili pot filled with 12 blocks of protein, 12 blocks of carbohydrate and 12 blocks of fat. I'm making this tomorrow to keep my metabolism humming at peak efficiency. If you'd like a bowl, here's the recipe:

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