It's the last day of your holiday and after walking around in flip-flops and a bikini for a fortnight it's finally time to pack your case and take a return flight back to reality.

Taking stock, you're feeling pretty good about yourself. You're totally refreshed, tanned and feeling ready to face the world again. Your holiday has done you the world of good.

Then reality strikes!

Changing back into your going home clothes you notice that the waist is a fair bit tighter than before you left, your hips are bulging a bit and your thighs just about fit into your trousers. Basically, the lard-monster has paid you a visit, and the likelihood is that he's going to be staying for a while!

For many women the above scenario is all too familiar. Two weeks of overindulgence and poor food choices leave the average woman with a weight gain of about 5 to 7 pounds. Nearly all of it fat!

Now, obviously this isn't great. We all like to think of our holidays as being a rejuvenating experience, not one which will leave us fatter and less energetic than before we left for the sun, but what can we do to avoid piling on the pounds whilst still having the holiday experience we're hoping for?

Plan, plan, plan

The main reason that so many of us put weight on during our holidays (or any other time for that matter) is that most of us are 'reactive' eaters. We never pay much attention to what we're eating or when we're going to eat it and either wait until we're ravenous before we find food or simply eat 'because it's there' (especially on all-inclusive getaways).

Neither of these scenarios are great. Waiting too long between meals usually means that you'll overeat when you finally do sit down to a meal and the other approach is an obvious route to obesity.

If you want to win the battle of the bulge you've got to think ahead. Plan for AT LEAST three meals per day (though ideally, five or six SMALLER feedings work best) with a good rule of thumb being that you should not eat again within 2 hours nor leave it longer than four. The result of this approach is that you are giving the body regular, yet small, quantities of food and then digesting them before you eat again, meaning that there is very little left to lay down as fat.

(Note: This only works if you consume smaller quantities of food. Six pizzas will still make you fat!)

Ideally, your planning should also include WHAT you are going to eat as well as WHEN. This reduces the likelihood of eating rubbish or 'non-foods' as we rarely, if ever, actually plan to eat poorly, we simply eat out of a reaction to hunger and immediate availability.

Fresh is best

If you really want to avoid piling on the holiday pounds this summer then avoid processed foods at all costs!

Laden with sodium, sugar and all manner of artificial colourings and preservatives, processed foods fall into the category of 'non-foods', meaning that they lack the vitamins and minerals that are needed in order to maintain optimal health. In addition, these foods are calorie dense and appetite stimulants of the highest order. Eat them at your peril!

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