THE WEIGHT GAME : Lose 43 Pounds. Ride a Horse. Emote. Just Another Day at the OK Corral

For many of us, the gaining and losing of even 5 pounds is viewed as sensual penance, a long, torturous process replete with calorie counting and mood swings. For some actors, it’s just part of the job description.

Robert De Niro was required to shovel his way to spare-tire city as boxer Jake LaMotta in “Raging Bull.” Gary Oldman shed enough weight from his already lean frame to cultivate Sid Vicious’ skeletal junkie physique in “Sid and Nancy.” Now Dennis Quaid convincingly knocks on heaven’s door as the tubercular Doc Holliday in “Wyatt Earp.”

For the role, Quaid dropped 43 pounds from his 6-foot-1, 180-pound frame in only three months and was still able to ride a horse, gunsling and emote every day in the grueling New Mexico heat.

Quaid may look awful in the film, but he lost the weight healthfully and retained optimal energy, stresses Quaid’s nutritionist Carrie Wiatt, of the Santa Monica-based Diet Designs, who guided him through the process, along with a physician who kept on-the-set tabs on Quaid’s health and state of mind. The regimen consisted of a 1,200-calorie-a-day no-fat diet, daily aerobic exercise and lots of water.

“The timing and the intervals are important. The metabolism burns faster when you eat small amounts several times a day,” Wiatt says.

Quaid’s meals were prepared and delivered by Diet Designs to location. The actor was not deprived, Wiatt says. He was allowed “free” vegetables all day and often cooked a fat-free vegetable soup that he was allowed to swig with abandon. He was also allowed fat-free baked products (bagels, muffins) and one ounce of fat-free taco chips, with two tablespoons of bean dip and salsa.

Quaid’s favorite meal was a pasta Bolognese dinner made with breast of turkey. Without exercise, however, Quaid’s body would have gone into semi-starvation mode, storing fat and lowering his metabolism. To keep him mentally sharp and ensure that he lost weight and retained muscle, Quaid ran six to nine miles a day, and occasionally walked a stair climber. That alone burned off 500 to 600 calories.

A vitamin regimen was also important. Quaid took mineral-enhanced multivitamins. B-complex in particular helped combat stress and fatigue.

“Dennis is extremely structured and diligent,” Wiatt says. “This was not a fad diet. It was done with real food.”

After the shoot Quaid put back the weight in about a month.

“He was hungry,” Wiatt says, trafficking in understatement.

Gaining weight, however, can be just as hard as losing, she contends. Again, the rebuilding process was done through careful meal and exercise planning. Gradual calorie and protein increases were stressed to prevent bloating and nausea--from 1,600 calories a day up to the normal 2,400 for men. Because Quaid’s metabolism is naturally fast, he raised that to 2,800 calories. He gained it back in muscle, switching from aerobics to weight training. He worked in his home gym with a trainer using low weights and lots of repetitions to build tone and flexibility, rather than mass.

“Dennis is now in the best shape he’s ever been in,” Wiatt says.

Maybe. But when asked to comment on the process, Quaid had only one thing to say: “I wasn’t a lot of fun to live with. I was Mr. Mood Swings.”