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Less piggy, more bank.
New year, new diet resolutions — and in 2025 more than ever, as Americans rush to sign up not just for the usual gym memberships, but also for now widely available weight-loss drugs like Ozempic.
And while shedding the pounds may be a boon for your physical and mental health, some are discovering that getting thin can also make you rich. Or rich-er, anyway.
Turns out, health really does equal wealth for slimmed-down dieters — with some saying they’ve saved thousands since snapping into shape.
“I spend far less than I used to on food,” Hunter Stoler, 24, told The Post, revealing he’s dropped 45 pounds — and slashed a staggering $10,920 from his budget — in the past year.
“Eating healthy costs far less than eating processed fast foods,” he said.
In the past, people may have disputed that fresh, organic produce was cheaper than fast food. Post-inflation, however, many staple packaged quick foods and meals out can cost much more than a healthy dinner cooked from scratch at home.
McDonald’s menu prices alone have soared more than 100% during the last decade — and the change has clicked with more than a few consumers.
“Drive-thru is not cheap anymore,” Haley Pentney 35, who managed to drop a whopping 90 pounds, told The Post. She’s now spending about $100 less on food per week, she said.
New research from wellness brand Hims showed that 81% of people surveyed felt that saving money would be a positive side outcome of losing weight.
Meet those who say they’re living proof.
Hunter Stoler, NYC: Saves $210 a week — or nearly $11,000 per year
“I was spending so much money daily — on food, delivery fees, premade meals, and [alcoholic] drinks, including vodka and hard seltzers,” Stoler, who weighed 225 pounds before changing his diet and hitting the gym, told The Post. “It’s crazy looking back and seeing where my money went!”
Before his weight loss, Stoler — who is now a health coach — said he’d start most days with an 800-calorie chocolate peanut butter smoothie that cost close to $12 from a local store. He’d also shell out around $5.25 for Starbucks egg white bites and $5.95 for an iced coffee.
Lunch would usually come from the Whole Foods hot bar (about $15), while dinner was often ordered from a fast-food joint. Stoler’s favorite, the Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich with fries and a large Diet Coke, cost him around $18.
“Dessert was usually 16 Handles self-serve frozen yogurt which ended up costing around $15 each trip,” Stoler confessed.
Add on pricey Crumbl cookies and other calorie-laden snacks such as pretzels and chips, and Stoler’s daily food spend was around $80.
Today, he’s nearly halved that cost thanks to bulk buy shopping. He now cooks almost all of his food at home.
“You can make a meal that is bigger, healthier, more nutrient-dense, and tastier at home,” Stoler told The Post.
“I can guarantee it will be cheaper than getting a meal from McDonalds or Chick-fil-A. Trust me, I’ve been on both sides of this argument,” he promised.
Now, the fitness nut — who weighs 180 pounds — usually has eggs for breakfast (around $2), organic turkey breast and organic blueberries for lunch ($12) and a grass-fed strip steak for dinner ($20 for the high-quality beef).
For dessert, he treats himself to one serving from a DreamPops ice cream bites pack or a Hu chocolate bar, while his go-to snack is non-fat Greek yogurt with half a serving of Seven Sundays cocoa cereal.
While Stoler admits to choosing boutique brands that are not necessarily cheap, he’s still managed to slim down his spending, saving about $30 per day on food.
In just one year, his estimated savings total $10,920.
“Food is medicine,” he told The Post. “Everyone should be prioritizing when it comes to finances and budgeting.”
Haley Pentney, Louisiana: Saves $300 a month — or $3,600 a year
For Haley Pentney, bariatric surgery was the key to dropping nearly 100 pounds — with super-sized savings at the grocery store a happy outcome of the procedure.
“I’d say we went from spending $400 or more every two weeks to [spending] about $500 or less a month,” Pentney said of her and her partner, who chose to go the same weight-loss route.
The Louisiana plastic surgery coordinator for Elias Ortiz and Co. said she tipped the scales at 250 pounds and now weighs 161.
Pentney credits the surgery with helping her curb her appetite, which has allowed food to last longer.
“Our food intake has essentially been cut in half and with the ever-increasing grocery prices, this has helped tremendously,” she said.
“Same thing for going out to eat at restaurants. We can sit down and split an appetizer and an entree and then we’re good to go. Before, we would both get an appetizer, both get an entree and both get dessert. So just all around it is 1738180027 generally cheaper,” she reported.
Previously, Pentney would skip breakfast before chowing down on chips and sandwiches for lunch.
A typical dinner was spaghetti and meatballs, but she could “easily eat two-and-a-half servings of it just because you don’t feel like you’re full yet.”
Now, Pentney has a waffle with almond butter for breakfast — and often has leftovers for lunch and dinner.
Her go-to meals include ground turkey and chicken with vegetables.
“We can now create multiple meal preps from a single serving, enabling us to allocate our food resources more effectively and better manage our monthly budget,” she said.
Pentney has also cut out chips and ice cream, replacing them with healthier — and more budget-friendly — options, including bell peppers, bananas and oats.
“You can get bell peppers for like a dollar or two a pound, or they’re like cents when you buy one at a time,” she stated, saying they’re cheaper than chips, which now often cost $4 or $5 for a single bag.
“I’ll eat them cooked, I’ll eat them raw,” she said, saying she also serves them stuffed with rice. “You can do anything you want with them.”
Meanwhile, a banana with Nutella is now her go-to dessert, saying it’s far cheaper than a pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.
Pentney also said protein powder isn’t pricey when you break it down per serving.
“It feels like an expense upfront but then you can definitely make that last for a long time,” she told The Post. “There are many different variations of things you could do with protein powder. People make pancakes and muffins out of it.
“I do think people have the misconception that healthy eating is more expensive,” she said.
A nutritionist’s take
New York City nutritionist Lisa Young said there are even savvier ways to trim the fat — literally and figuratively — if you’re on a tight budget.
“The greatest food right now in the dietary guideline advisory report: beans. Pick up a can of beans,” Young — who has written “Finally Full, Finally Slim” — implored. “They are a very healthy, very affordable source of protein and fiber. They contain a lot of nutrients.”
Young also recommended canned tuna and salmon, peanut butter and frozen fruits and vegetables as other affordable, nutritious options that’ll save you money and help you lose weight.
The expert asserts that it’s only pricier for healthy foods when you’re unprepared.
Her example: A bag of chips is likely to be cheaper than an apple at any NYC bodega.
“But if you are going for a supermarket shop and you know where to buy your produce and you know where you can buy things in bulk and you’re eating at home, it becomes a different ballgame,” she said.
