This may seem like a convoluted scheme but I think it does have solid grounding. Not everyone has developed the same capability for internal reward and not ever

This may seem like a convoluted scheme but I think it does have solid grounding. Not everyone has developed the same capability for internal reward and not everyone can arrive at this through rational means. Our limbic system is the source of this and the most powerful way to program it is through association. If one can muster enough self-discipline to stick to a regimen as outlined in the article then they should be able to adjust their cost function quite a bit. It does seem a bit clinical but it's one of the few ways we have of communicating with our autonomic systems. Repeated behaviour, association, physical stimulus, and diet. It makes for a crude language but it's a pretty decent safeguard against half-baked meddling.