John Cena Used to Eat ‘10,000 Calories’ Worth of Tic Tacs Before Each WWE Show

Some people have to ditch cheeseburgers and beer to cut back on calories, and others — or maybe just John Cena — have to eliminate Tic Tacs from their diet.

The actor and pro wrestler admitted that he had an addiction to the minty candy during his WWE days, and would down multiple boxes before heading into the ring.

“My thing was always Tic Tacs. It’s a nervous superstition that I’ve always had before we go on a broadcast, and I’ve had to wean myself off of them, because I was up to, like, three boxes a day and it’s right in the 20 minutes before broadcast,” Cena, 42, told a stunned Kelly Clarkson during Friday’s episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show.

“That’s like a child!” Clarkson, 37, exclaimed.

“Yeah it’s pretty much 10,000 calories of straight sugar,” Cena said.

The Playing with Fire star said his Tic Tac addition started as a way to combat body odors when he’s in the “small, confined” ring with other guys on WWE tours.

“You always want to try to smell your best,” he said. “Everyone’s given a few mulligans in the B.O. and the breath category, but we also have a nice form of policing ourselves, where if somebody has a few more mulligans than he should we kind of give him the old, ‘hey man, it’s our office out there, could you keep it together?’ ”

Cena started touring with WWE back in 2001, and said in June that his time in the ring is likely almost up — but he doesn’t think he’ll “ever be disconnected from the WWE.”

“I think whether it’s an on-camera role or an off-camera role, I don’t think the word ‘retire’ I’ll ever use that,” he told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live. “So I know that time is limited because it’s a physical, performance-based thing, and I’m 42, so I know that window is kind of coming to a close, but I don’t think I’ll ever be retired. I would love to be able to pass on the knowledge and wisdom that I have about live performances to up-and-comers and hopefully help people out.”