Zero calorie doesn’t always mean calorie-free, as a Redditor recently learned.


According to a story posted on r/TIFU by user DumpsterPuff, he had become obsessed with eating the Fruit Adventure flavor of Tic-Tacs. The man became so obsessed, in fact, that he began buying the containers in bulk, throwing back one to two packages of the stuff every day.


“Now keep in mind that on the nutrition label, it says the serving size is 1 candy, and is listed as having 0 calories, which I thought was awesome because I could have as many as I want,” OP explains.


However, after OP began his Tic-Tac addiction, something unexpected began to happen. In short, he gained around 40 pounds. Confused, he went to a doctor, who referred him to a weight-loss specialist. This is where he discovered the error of his ways.


“I had a virtual visit with her today and during it, I was fiddling around with an empty container to keep my hands busy,” OP details. “She saw it and asked where I got such a large container from, so I told her about it and how I eat 1-2 of those per day. She asked why those weren’t on my food tracker and I said it was because they’re 0 calories so they wouldn’t count.”


It turns out, they do count. As Tic-Tacs are less than 5 calories per serving, they can legally be listed as having zero-calories, despite being basically pure sugar.


“So essentially, since each container has 200 pieces and I typically have 1-2 of those, I’ve been eating 400-800+ calories per day of Tic-Tacs, in addition to all the other food I’ve been eating — which is very likely why I’ve gained so much weight,” OP states.


TIFU by not telling my doctor how many Tic-Tacs I eat per day
byu/DumpsterPuff intifu



Redditors were of two minds about this story — first, sympathy and frustration for the ambiguity around calorie counts, but second, amazement that this man managed to eat so many goddamn Tic-Tacs.


“I just finished a diploma in a medical field, we were warned about people like you OP. I wish I was joking,” said a commenter. “People really do be living out there without any common sense, huh,” added another. “Idc what the fuck someone eats, if you are slamming 200-400 of literally fucking anything and feel a significant change in your health, then first thing you should question is that thing you are overconsuming,” declared a third.



If you, too, were under the misguided notion that you can eat as many of a snack as you want because the label says it has zero calories, I’m happy to be part of your wake-up call. Then again, if you find yourself eating several handfuls of Tic-Tacs in a single day, you might have some other issues going on.