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Rail-thin actress Renee Zellweger is having to put on weight again for her reprisal role of Bridget Jones that starts filming this fall. For the first two movies, Bridget Jones’ Diary and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, gained about 30 pounds, which is the amount she’s expected to gain this time around as well. The third series follows the character’s attempts to have a baby before her so-called biological clock runs out.

The yo-yo weight gain and loss takes its toll on her body and her spirit, Zellweger says. She told the British Daily Mail in a recent interview that her body is “whacked” by the time filming is finished. She says that overeating is fun at first, but not so much later. “For two days it’s bliss,” she told the paper. “Then after a week your glucose levels are going crazy. You’re up and down and all over the place. It doesn’t feel good, and no one wants to hear that, but it’s the truth.”

She continued that losing the weight isn’t much fun either. She says: “It was horrible. On one side it’s fantastic because you get to go back to taking care of yourself, so you feel wonderful, but the first lap around the track I felt like I had a toddler on my back.”

Zellweger isn’t the only star who has had to gain weight for a role. Eva Longoria Parker gained weight (and wore fat pads) for Desperate Housewives, Selma Blair gained weight for Kath and Kim. An upcoming extreme change will be noted with Matt Damon, who gained significant weight for his upcoming thriller, The Informant.

Celebrities who have had to gain weight or wear padding to make them appear bulked up also talk how hard it is to lose it again. Some have even acknowledged that they have much more empathy of those who are struggling to maintain a healthy weight and realize that most people don’t have the benefit of a personal trainer or nutritionist.

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