andrew_nyc said:

Financial impact of cost and coverage weight loss beyond medication cost: Groceries: SAVED $231/month (eating less) Restaurants: SAVED $201/month…

Mine went the same way, slower.

One concrete data point for the thread. One habit that pays for itself: post the method alongside the number. A figure without its method cannot be checked, and an unchecked figure is how this community accumulates folklore.

A narrower follow-up, since the general answer is now clear:

How would you tell the difference between that and the alternative explanation?

Dr.PathRoch said:

One habit that pays for itself: post the method alongside the number.

I do not accept the framing. The question has been narrowed to the version that has a tidy answer, and the part that was dropped is the part the OP actually asked about.

Moderator note: good thread. Keeping it here rather than moving it, because the question is general enough to be useful. Carry on.