We are going to start preparing to take action.

Like any addiction, you can’t just wake up one day and say I’m done.  It might work for a few days but a relapse is usually inevitable. The reason that so many people have success in my addiction courses is because I do not tell you to just stop.  This is why we reviewed the history and hopefully you gained some knowledge about the behind the scenes stuff that goes on as well as some perspective about your own self.

And this is also why we are coming up with a plan and not just winging it.  It takes time, preparation, and knowledge in order to kick an addiction. There are four more sections before you take action and each section is equally important.

This section, we are going to talk about changing routines, setting a quit date, diet, exercise, and sleep.  

Let’s talk about why changing your routine is important. An addiction is like a habit. Remember when you logged your porn watching time? What did you notice about your routine?

For this section, I want you to write down your daily routine. Then, I want you to make note of the times of day you typically watch porn.

Is it in the morning before you go to work?

Is it when you get home from work or perhaps at night when everyone is sleeping? 

Maybe it’s all of those things. 

After you write your current schedule I want you to rewrite your daily schedule so that you are doing something before and during those times you typically watch porn. For example, if you currently watch porn right when you get home from work, try and do something else right when you get home. Maybe eat dinner earlier or take your dog for a long walk. Make it a habit and stick with it.

If your new schedule starts to not work, redo it again and again and again while finishing this guide. 

Do not get complacent with this task. Some people find that redoing their schedule is really helpful while some people need to re-evaluate every few days. And if that’s you then that’s okay too.

Having new routines is always good for the mind!

This is my favorite section and I hope it will be yours too!

The reason this is my favorite chapter is because I’m really excited that you’ve put all the work in and now you can look forward to the day you will be porn free. Setting a quit date is really important. If there are people in your life that know about your addiction it’s important for them to know the day you are quitting so not only are you holding yourself accountable but others can hold you accountable too.

I recommend giving it about a week from today when setting your date. This is because there are three more sections after this one where we will be talking about diet, exercise and sleep. You’ll need to know this information before your quit date because it does take a little planning when focusing on these other core aspects. For example, we’ll be talking about how to get better sleep and how much you should be sleeping each night. You’ll want to know that before quitting so that on your quit date you will be getting the full experience of changing your whole life, not just quitting porn.

Also, by giving it a week, it gives you an opportunity to taper down. If you don’t taper, you’ll be quitting cold turkey which is fine but you’ll have better success if you at least try and watch less and less each day. Quitting porn won’t be as difficult.

So go ahead and pick a date and write it down. If you can tell someone then great! If not, just know that’s the day where your whole life is going to change. 

Nutrition, Exercise, and Sleep

This is a brief section about why nutrition, exercise, and sleep is critical to your success in this guide.

Your diet plays a role in how you feel every day regardless of any addiction. Those who overeat, undereat, eat too much sugar, too many processed foods, too much soda, will not be performing at their peak. I want you to perform at your peak so that you can fully recover from your addiction.

If you stop porn but eat crappy food then you’ll still have brain fog and lethargy. Your body will convince you that quitting porn is not helping your mental state.

When it comes to exercise, your body needs to move and this is really important for improving your sexual abilities as well, especially if you suffer from erectile dysfunction disorder or female sexual dysfunction. You need to get the blood flowing through your veins and combined with a good diet you are going to notice a significant lifestyle change.

And last, sleep. Sleep is when your brain repairs itself and without sleep you’ll experience much of what we just talked about: lethargy, brain fog, and so on. These three concepts are crucial to your recovery and that’s why I have an entire chapters dedicated to each. Even if you feel you eat well, exercise, and get enough sleep, please don’t skip any part of this guide.

​Extra Resources and Readings

• Article:  Changing the Habit of Porn Addiction 

Remember in part one of the guide when we talked about the negative effects porn has on your brain and we talked about dopamine being the reward system? Sugar works in the exact same way.

I am telling you that it’s important for you to quit sugar while you are quitting porn for a very good reason.

When you quit porn, your brain is going to be looking for ways to increase your dopamine levels because your dopamine levels will be very low, at first. Many people who quit porn turn to sugar because it makes them feel good and activates the dopamine receptors. The problem with this is that you are literally trading one addiction for another. 

When you quit porn, I want you to eventually be able to find pleasure in good for you activities.  By getting rid of all of the baggage so to speak, like sugar, junk food, alcohol, cigarettes, porn, etc. your brain will start repairing itself so fast you’ll be amazed that in just a short amount of time you’ll be free from it all and the best part is, you’ll find pleasure in ways you never thought possible.  

You’ll have better relationships, be a better student, be more productive at work and the list goes on and on.

While you may think sugar is such a small point to discuss, it’s actually rather large and powerful. 

Start as soon as possible.  Cut out those sugar drinks like soda and juice, start reading labels, and do not buy the sugar junk food: donuts, pies, cookies, etc.  

This is our last topic in the nutrition section. Let’s talk about portion control.

Since nutrition plays a significant role in the recovery process it’s important to understand that eating the right foods is only part of it. The other part is eating the right amount of food.

I’m not big on counting calories. If you are overweight, you’ll want to try and eat a little less. If you are underweight, you’ll want to try and eat a little more. If you are the right weight, you’ll want to try and maintain where you are at. So check your BMI just to be sure you know exactly where you fall. You can find the BMI calculator online.

There are reasons that weight and portion control are topics in this porn addiction. First, when you are knee deep into your addiction, it is likely you are not thinking about making good food choices. Some people watch so much porn they forget to eat and others overcompensate with food when they are not watching porn which is why some of you may be overweight and some of you may be underweight. But the number really isn’t the important thing. While it is important to know where you are at, the most important thing is changing your lifestyle.

When you are eating, focus on how much you are eating in each setting. You will know, without having to count calories, whether or not you are eating too much. If you are overweight then try a nutrition plan or reducing the amount of food you eat in each setting.

A typical diet consists of breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack or two. What you don’t want to do is snack all day and skip a meal. You also don’t want to skip meals like breakfast or lunch only to gorge at dinner. A steady balance is optimal.

If you want a challenge, do some research on intermittent fasting. There’s a lot of research on the health benefits of doing small fasts each day or one day fasts a couple times per week. I posted an article about it if you want to learn more. 

Extra Resources and Readings

Video: How sugar affects the brain - Nicole Avena

Article: The 4-week fat-burning meal plan

Article: NIH Healthy Eating Plan

Article: Dr. Mercola's Nutrition Plan

Article: 28 DAYS TO LEAN MEAL PLAN

Article: 5 Weeks to Your Best Body Ever: What to Eat

Article: Intermittent Fasting 101 - The Ultimate Beginner's Guide

Article: Eat This Much

In this section we are going to talk about the importance of keeping your body physically active. If you can make changes in all areas of your life, your recovery will be that much easier. Exercise helps addiction and I’m here to help you find the right program or plan. 

There are some incredible health benefits for anyone who struggles with any addiction which are peer-reviewed and part of research findings. Here are the general benefits of exercising during recovery and beyond:

• Provides Pleasurable States
• Provides Positive Alternatives 
• Exercise can also serve as a healthy, positive means of filling unstructured time
• Reduces Depressive Symptoms and Negative Mood
• Both aerobic and strength training exercise programs during the course of alcohol treatment have resulted in decreased depressive and anxiety symptoms
• Decreases Stress Reactivity and Improve Coping
• Exercise can serve to reduce stress reactivity and to supplant drinking as a primary coping mechanism
• Increases Self-Efficacy
• Enhancing one's self-efficacy is likely to result in positive behavior change.
• Decreases urges to drink
• Moderate-intensity exercise may provide short-term relief from urges to drink alcohol

All these findings (plus more details if you want to view the scientific details can be found via the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health website.