Unless you live in a cave (and, maybe, even then), you’ll have noticed that fuel went up a lot in price last year.
From the upper 140s pence per litre at the start of the year to just shy of £2 at it’s peak.
It had, of course, being going up for years.
Whilst last year had a particularly fast increase, I remember people talking about how expensive fuel was getting for as long as I’ve lived.
When it past 50p a litre (1995) and £1 a litre (2008).
The narrative for as long as I can remember is that fuel is increasing in price more than anything else.
When you check the facts, though, this isn’t quite the case.
When compared to the Retail Prices Index (“a measure of inflation, which in turn is the rate at which prices for goods and services are rising”), it’s stayed fairly similar.
Meaning, give or take, it’s increased in cost the same as everything else.
A quick google shows that, compared to 1983, fuel became a little “cheaper” (in real terms) from 1986 to 99, variable to 2014 and then back to ‘relatively cheaper’ every year until the start of last year.
I remember my Dad telling me a gallon of fuel cost the same as you’d pay a farm hand per hour in the 1960s (in my mind he said “2 and 6” but I think that about everything he mentioned the cost of from before decimalisation).
When I started driving in 1997, fuel was 60p per litre (£2.62 per gallon) and the newly introduced “minimum wage” was £3 for under 22s and £3.60 for over.
In 2021 fuel averaged £5.63 per gallon whilst minimum wage was £8 odd.
So, it seems, the commonly held narrative that fuel is getting particularly expensive is not true (until last year and, as we’ve seen since, it’s come back down to where it was in 2021).
Like many commonly held narratives aren’t true.
Things we just hold to be true because everyone seems to say it is.
Like “carbs / sugar are fattening”.
“You shouldn’t eat after 6pm”.
“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day”.
“Eating little and often stokes your metabolism”.
“XYZ workout turns you into a fat burning machine for 72 hours afterwards”.
“Protein is bad for the kidneys”.
“Diet coke is as bad for you as the normal version”
“Aspartame is poisonous”
“Weights will make you ‘bulky'”.
“Eating healthily is expensive”.
We’ve probably heard some, or all, of these, so many times that we just hold them to be true.
But the research doesn’t back that up.
Time and time again, large scale, published, peer-reviewed, repeatable experiments seem to show these to not be the case.
Sure, the science sometimes “evolves”.
In it’s never ending quest to prove itself wrong, it sometimes does.
But, until that happens, I’m happy to take all those controlled studies over “some guy on TikTok” or the Daily Mail, et al.
If you’re unsure about the reality of the above, then please ask.
Hit reply.
Or ask in a Session.
Or, if you’re not a member, just apply already –> www.myrise.co.uk/apply
Much love,
Jon ‘Catalytic convertor’ Hall
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RISE in Macclesfield was established in 2012 and specialise in Group Personal Training weight loss programmes for those that don’t like the gym and find diets boring and restrictive!
