George ate 20% of the candies in the bag. If George ate 45 candies , how many candies were there total in the bag?

If 20% of the candies were 45, then 100% of the candies would be 45/20 = <<45/20=2.25>>2.25 times bigger, meaning there were 45*2.25 = <<45*2.25=101.25>>101.25 candies total. Answer: \boxed{101}.