In Breakdown of Will George Ainslie describes a mechanism through which this sort of behavior can be obtained within the framework of hyperbolic discounting. He says

The will is a recursive process that bets the expected value of your future self-control against each of your successive temptations.

In this view, thinking now in terms of TDT (or whatever) gives you enough evidence for future self-control such that abstaining from garlic knots is the correct decision even for a hyperbolic discounter.