Coming from a guy that was doing what you were doing a few years ago, I can tell you that dating around/spinning plates is much more expensive and time consuming than just dealing with one girl. All that time you spend on maintaining an uber attractive body, gaming the field, and plate management can be spent on your business alone.
I don't think you're wrong, but I do STRONGLY disagree with these points.
First of all, in reference to maintaining my health and fitness, that's something I'm going to do anyway, no matter what. I know exactly what I'm going to eat, when I'm going to eat it, how much I need to buy in bulk at the grocery store, when I'm going to the gym, which exercises I'm going to do, how long I'll be there, and so on and so forth. I don't even have to think about it.
Second, if I were to REALLY break down how much time and money I spend on women I'm gaming the field with (especially if I'm comparing to times I've been in relationships), it is a massive difference...
Realistically, if I'm going out to meet women and don't already have something arranged with a plate, I can expect to spend somewhere around 3-4 hours of my night, and probably somewhere around $50 on drinks. I might spend a little more if I go somewhere further, like Philadelphia, in which case it would probably be closer to $75 before you factor in costs of things like parking at a garage ($30), and gas ($7, since I usually drive the Prius).
If I'm seeing a plate, I might just be going to her place for a few hours, in which case the only cost is gas. Right now, I have a plate up the street from me, so that's like 2 miles of driving. I have another in Philadelphia, so that's close to the $7 figure from above. And I have sorta another in Ocean City who wants to see me some more after that little fling during my vacation, which would be close to $15 in gas one-way, but that would be more of an entire weekend visit if I'm going to spend that much time on the road. If I'm going out and grabbing drinks or something with the girl first, then the time and money investment would probably be closer to the numbers above.
Now...the relationships I've been in have been significantly more draining in both the time and money departments...
My first serious girlfriend was the one who cheated on me while going to school up in NY. In addition to being a 4-hour drive, each way, any time I would visit, I was also spending probably about $100 or so on the dates we would go on, since they were usually dinner and some drinks. Thankfully, we didn't make it to Christmas, or that would've been another large expense, but her lying about being r*ped before finding out she cheated also left me depressed for a few months.
My 2nd serious girlfriend was also long-distance and had pretty much the same time and money expenses as listed above. She was about a 2-hour drive, but the added cost with her was time. Because we were at such a distance and would usually only see each other once a month for the weekend, she would FaceTime me every...single...night...We would talk about nothing, for hours, and I would want to relax after work and the gym, but she would get sad if I wasn't showing her enough attention.
My 3rd and most recent girlfriend was the incredibly toxic one that I'd detailed in here before. She lived the closest, about an hour away, and we would see each other every weekend, for the weekend. Each time we would go out somewhere, a bar, a club, dinner, etc. Every one of those outings was at least $100. In addition to the monetary cost of seeing her, there was also the emotional cost. This woman took me on a rollercoaster almost every weekend after the honeymoon phase wore off around Christmas time. She is responsible for single-handedly ruining Valentine's Day for me - it was the first time I made an effort for somebody, and that effort went out the window because I celebrated it with her the weekend before, since I would be working on the actual day, a Monday, leading to a temporary breakup over text...
So, you could say that I chose poorly with these relationships, and I would agree, to an extent. But alternatively, I could simply NOT pursue a relationship, and not have to worry about any of these things.