How Sugar Rush Judges Really Eat All That Sugar, According To Hunter March - Exclusive

Most guest judges on "Sugar Rush" really had no idea what they were getting themselves into. "That first [round], every guest judge tried to eat all four cupcakes," host Hunter March told Mashed in an exclusive interview. "They're like, 'This is so good. I can do this.' We're warning them, 'Stop it. You're going to die.'"

In some ways, the "Sugar Rush" team faces the same quandary as all other food competition judges. Padma Lakshmi famously eats over 7,000 calories a day while filming "Top Chef." Lakshmi, of course, gets to sample savory dishes. But "Sugar Rush" judges have a unique challenge: Eating only sugar. The first round is the Mount Everest of rounds: There are four cupcakes to try. The confections round only requires three taste tests. And cakes — the final round — requires two tastes. 

"It is such a weird world; when you're watching at home, every episode is an orgasm of flavors portrayed on screen," March dished. "For us, luckily, all of it's delicious, but you do get to a point where you're like, 'If I...' When we're done with the show, we don't look at cupcakes or sweets for months afterward. It's a nightmare if someone tries to give you a cupcake, but then also you have a weird addiction to sugar afterward. Your sugar need is so high because it's like a drug."

"Sugar Rush" filming days are long with host and judges on set for 10 to 12 hours, and a body can only handle so much sucrose. How does the "Sugar Rush" team do it? To a certain degree, eating all that sweet stuff isn't handleable. "Inevitably, we're getting to lunch ... and then we all crash to varying degrees," Hunter March told Mashed. "The guest judge always crashes the hardest because they didn't pace themselves with how much sugar they were consuming."

Show stars Adriano Zumbo, Candace Nelson, and Hunter March may have learned the art of sampling sweets in moderation. But March — who is gluten-intolerant — said he also uses his lunch break to sleep off some of the sugar. "I got really good at taking power naps," he copped. "I was able to take a 30-minute lunch — 30 minutes of being in my dressing room, and in that 30 minutes, I would do a 20- to 25-minute nap, and then as soon as they were ready for me, I'd say, 'You guys are going to have to work some magic to get these bags out from under my eyes because I could sleep for another three hours.'" 

Mum's the word on whether we'll get a fourth season of "Sugar Rush." In the meantime, you can catch up with March on "Nightly Pop" on E!. New episodes air Monday through Thursday at 11:30 p.m. ET.