My goodness, if he'd advertised his thoughts as "The Cholera Diet: a great way to lose 20kg" they could hardly be less attractive.

If he could discover why he desires cheeseburgers so much then perhaps he could find a way to _want_ to eat less. As it stands he is using force on himself and there is a heavy psychological price tag for that, as he acknowledges. This will effect the rest of his life in ways he may not appreciate.