The evils of Halloween candy

I’m calling this one, “Confessions of Life Long Sugar Addict.”

If this was an after school movie it would open in a basement meeting room with folding chairs in a that familiar circle, the camera would pan to me, and I’d say, “Hi, my name is Ron, and I’m an addict.”

“Hi, Ron,” the group would say.

I’d continue, “I’m pretty sure I’ve been addicted to sugar my entire life. It started for sure on my first Halloween.”

There’s a new story out Tuesday that estimates the average haul of candy for a kid has around 365 grams of sugar in their jack-o-lantern bucket.

I wish I could say I’m joking about the addict thing, but if I’m honest, my relationship with sugar has been the biggest factor in my weight and health for most of my life.

As a kid, I had to be consuming hundreds of grams of sugar a day. Sugary breakfast cereals followed up by full sugar Kool-Aid. I have a clear memory of filling a glass measuring cup all the way to the top with sugar and pouring it into the pitcher of lime colored sugar water. I would go through the entire pitcher every other day.

Next up, snacks and soda. Yep and yep. Every day for school lunch and then after school it was straight to the Little Debbie drawer.

At night, more sugar and carbs.

Here’s the thing though, I was a very athletic kid, so I was skinny as rail. I had to fight to put weight on. I was always the skinny one in the weight room. The consequences of my sugar addiction didn’t manifest themselves until I was in my late 20s. When my metabolism started to slow down and I was no longer involved in team sports, the weight started to go up. Over the next two decades, I put on almost 100 pounds.

I believe a lot of it was pure addiction to sugar. I went from sugar high to sugar high all day every day.

I’m thankful my sugar addiction never escalated to other addictions. Eric Clapton talks about starting out addicted to sugar as a kid, then moving on to alcohol and finally hard drugs. Thankfully, that never happened to me.

I finally broke the cycle a few years ago when I lost 65 pounds, but withdrawing from my sugar cravings was extremely difficult. Massive headaches, unreal cravings, foggy thinking. It was the worst.

I’m not saying to not let your kid have candy for Halloween, but I am saying to just be mindful about it.

One of the biggest things I wish I could change about my life is my relationship with sugar. It’s a battle every day.

So have a great Halloween, dress up like goblins and monsters, but seriously, a little candy goes a long way.

“What Are We Talking About Here” can be heard every weekday at 4:50 p.m. and 6:50 p.m. on the Ron & Don Show on KIRO Radio 97.3 FM.