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digit_gw

When did I Get Fat?

digit
13 years ago

Okay, so I'm not obese. In fact, I'm just on the borderline between "normal" and "overweight" - it just depends on whether I'm that extra inch or those extra pounds on that Body Mass Index.

Here is the Cost of Classic Thanksgiving Dinner Yearly Averages.

The author said something about "adjusting for inflation" so I did that using the Inflation Calculator that the government provides for just such questions as, "When did I get fat?!"

I figured it all would make more sense if I compared the cost of a Thanksgiving dinner using the buying power of 2010 dollars. I could answer the question, "How much money would I have left to buy even MORE food or would I fall short, if I was using an average budget for 2010?"

Hugging that border between "normal" and "overweight" is all economics and monetary policy, see !?

So, looking at the information you can see that the cost of that Thanksgiving dinner is almost exactly the same today as it was in 1989, for example. But, you can see that I was darn skinny in 1986 . . . or, at least, "normal."

No, this isn't it sad!!! Food prices go up and down. It wouldn't make any difference to me if I fell $2 short of being able to pay for the full holiday meal or had $2 leftover for more food!! (Altho', falling nearly $7 short of paying for the meal might have caused me to forgo a 2nd slice of holiday pie ;o).

This "exercise" was just an excuse to not get any real exercise. Yeah roll! Well this year - I am going to get one of those pulse monitors that strap around my wrist. Unfortunately, it is going to cost more than a Classic Thanksgiving Dinner but, at least, I won't have an excuse for quitting an exercise before I get some real aerobic benefit!

To pay for this, I think I'll go get another carrot . . .

digitS'

1986 : $-6.93

1987 : $-1.90

1988 : $-3.07

1989 : $-.02

1990 : $-2.84

1991 : $1.15

1992 : $1.53

1993 : $1.27

1994 : $1.09

1995 : $.69

1996 : $-.44

1997 : $.19

1998 : $-1.65

1999 : $-.68

2000 : $1.90

2001: $.20

2002 : $1.24

2003 : $.34

2004 : $1.91

2005 : $2.09

2006 : $1.98

2007 : $-1.00

2008 : $-1.76

2009 : $-.22

2010 : $0

Comments (11)

  • dsieber
    13 years ago

    Maybe it is people in the early OO's had more money to try things more sophisticated (Food Network Influence) than Cambells Cream of mushroom soup and green beans!!!!

  • david52 Zone 6
    13 years ago

    That doesn't look at all like my grocery shopping receipt.

  • digit
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    The T-day menu is rather limited.

    I mean, for 10 people you only have 2 pies. That's 12 slices . . . and whipped cream from 1/2 pint!

    A dozen rolls . . . for 12 people!

    Everything is there but wouldn't people want a 2nd roll or a 2nd slice of pie and more than a T-spoon of whipped cream? Or, is that just me?

    Oh yeah! That is me . . .

    Steve

  • greenbean08_gw
    13 years ago

    Oh Steve, it's not just you...

    Possibly even a 3rd roll, leftover pie so there's something for breakfast, and seriously, 1 T of cream????

    (Perhaps that line of thinking is why I have outgrown my pants this last couple years...)

  • Skybird - z5, Denver, Colorado
    13 years ago

    ONE TABLESPOON of whipped cream! ROFL!

    I had a dish of eggnog ice cream last nite, and I took a can of Redi-Whip and put about SIX INCHES of whipped cream on top of it!

    One tablespoon doesn't even qualify as a "dollop!"

    When's the last time you had ONE TABLESPOON of whipped cream on something, Digit???

    Skybird

  • billie_ladybug
    13 years ago

    OK that menu is nuts. I have 7 people in my house. I will be having a 24 lbs turkey, plus taters, dressing, green bean casserole, corn, cranberries, yams, rolls, then followed by pies (3 kinds, all homemade: apple, pumpkin and pecan) with enough whipped cream to drown them in. I can't help to think that I am forgetting something, maybe a ham??

  • highalttransplant
    13 years ago

    Umm ... Billie, I'm thinking you forgot the gravy : )

    There's only 5 of us, and two are half-pints, but I'm still thinking I need a second pumpkin pie!

  • billie_ladybug
    13 years ago

    Bonnie - Yeah, I guess I kinda forgot the gravy. It's an automatic thing, turkey comes out of pan, drippings are gravy, but, yup, it would be missing from the list.

    Your talking about two pumpkin pies and I am rethinking this. I'm probably going to have to make at least two apple pies. With James, Jacob and Heath fighting over it, if I want a piece, I better have a second one hidden.

    Cheesecake is that way too in my house. Heath does not like cheesecake and Devin does not like cream cheese, yet somehow, whenever I make one, they both appear and hover until there is some on their plate, go figure.

  • mstywoods
    13 years ago

    Ok guys, I'm getting seriously hungry now after reading these posts!! We are having our Thanksgiving today, because my daughter wasn't able to come out next week (from California). So now I'm tempted to make a second pumpkin pie, even though it's just the 3 of us!!!! Yummmm - and yeah, we will definitely be putting more than that 1 T of whipped cream on top of our pie as well (Skybird - SIX inches?!!! That's almost as big as you are!!!! ;^)

    Marj

  • treebarb Z5 Denver
    13 years ago

    I've been trying to ignore this post but I can't. I was swapping out my summer clothes for winter clothes last weekend and found my much beloved flannel lined jeans. I slipped them on, then had to lay down to button them. Twasn't pretty or comfortable and I taught the cat some new words. I've caught a cold and don't want anything but chicken soup, but it won't last long enough to fix this. Maybe there's something to that skimpy menu. Not that I'm not pigging out on Thursday. I mean c'mon, it's Thanksgiving!
    Barb

  • Skybird - z5, Denver, Colorado
    13 years ago

    Barb, I'd LOVE to talk to that cat some day! ;-)

    Misty, It didn't really look as funny as it must sound--6" of whipped cream--'cause I didn't put it all on at the same time, but I had AT LEAST 6" total! I put some ice cream in the dish, covered it and filled up the rest of the dish with whipped cream, ate all the whipped cream with a little bit of ice cream in each bite, added a whole new layer of whipped cream and filled the dish again, and---repeated till the ice cream was all gone! Did I mention that I love whipped cream! Ok! It's not as bad as it sounds! I use/eat, at the most, two cans of Reddi-Wip a year! That's not so bad if you average it out! But NO 2 tablespoons when I DO decide to have some! If I'm gonna eat that many calories in one sitting, I want to KNOW I'm eating them! And Reddi-Wip, especially the "extra creamy" one, really has a pretty good flavor. And while the "artificial" ingredients may not be so good for you, the stuff keeps for a LONG time in the fridge! If I bought the "real thing" and whipped it myself, just think, I'd have to eat the whole bowl full in a couple days!

    And if anybody around here is gonna be using a "canned" whipped cream on Thursday--or any other time--here's the secret of getting it out of the can without it splattering all over the place! Invert the can COMPLETELY upside down before you "dispense" it! No splatters! (Learned that serving ice cream sundaes in an airplane!)

    You guys are absolutely not gonna believe what I'm thinking of having for Thanksgiving! I'm just gonna be home by myself this year, and I did buy a turkey--they're so cheap, how can you not--but I've been craving potato pancakes lately, and red potatoes were on sale last week, so I'm pretty sure my Thanksgiving dinner is going to be (German) fried potato pancakes smothered in applesauce! And I will EASILY be as overstuffed as everybody eating turkey! Actually, I think I'm gonna have trouble waiting till Thursday to make them! And maybe I'll have another dish of eggnog ice cream with 6" of whipped cream for dessert!

    Where ever you are, what ever you're doing, and whatever you're eating, I wish each of you a happy and delicious Thanksgiving,
    Skybird