“Dwight Howard used to consume 5000 calories and 12 candy bars a day!”: When the Lakers big man got a junk food addiction that derailed his career

Dwight Howard was known for his ferocity on the court and how he dominated the paint. But his career path was somewhat wayward. 

We will forever remember Dwight Howard for being one of the most dominant centers in the league. During the late 2000s and early 2010s, he was a force.

The big man was so dominant, that he beat a LeBron James team in the conference finals! Plaudits came rolling in and analysts showered heaps of praises on Dwight.

They thought his ceiling was Shaq, and boy they were wrong. During the 2012-13 season, Dwight played horribly. He was not even close to being in shape and constantly looked lost.

That season he was playing with Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. As a result, he faced tremendous pressure. He fell off from his from and something went wrong.

Also read: “Dwight Howard kissed a referee on the forehead and got away with it!”: When the former Lakers superstar left a smooch to avoid foul trouble during a Hawks-Hornets game

Reminder: Dwight Howard ate the equivalent of 24 candy bars a day for nearly a decade, ingesting so much sugar his fingers shook and his joints didn’t work right. So yeah. pic.twitter.com/JtpXHD3lEZ

— Victor Godinez (@VictorGodinez) September 29, 2021

Dwight Howard used to eat 5000 calories a day!

When he joined Los Angeles Lakers he started falling off. From a guy that used to dominate the paint and win slam dunk competitions to a guy who missed simple pick and rolls. In 2012, they found out what was wrong.

At one training session, he had a panic attack. His hands and feet were shaking and he was behaving erratically. Dwight called up his nutritionist who was shocked to hear about his habit and scared for his life.

Dwight admitted that he had a Skittle and Honey Bun addiction. According to Howard himself, he ate 4-5 Honey Buns a day.

In the Graham Singer Show, he even disclosed a strange and frankly disgusting diet. In one season, his routine was to eat at Mcdonald’s before every game.

His order was humongous: 2 double cheeseburgers, a large and small fries, a strawberry chocolate milkshake, and a large coke. He became addicted to junk food and even had a skittles machine in his house.

His nutritionist disclosed that he was consuming around 5k calories a day. That is nearly 24 candy bars worth of calories!

If Dwight Howard wants to eat a 54 oz. bag of Skittles every day until he’s 85 without spending any of his current earnings, he’d need to stay on the Lakers roster for 13 days. pic.twitter.com/UZgdRVBQFn

— Taco Trey Kerby (@treykerby) August 26, 2019

We are glad now that he has significantly curbed that addiction. On top of that, he has also gone on to win the NBA championship with the Lakers in 2020. Good on you Dwight!

Also read: “Dwight Howard, you’re soft like a TEDDY BEAR!”: When Kobe Bryant dissed his former teammate by calling him soft following an in-game altercation