The short version: I’d like to pay you to not drink or jerk off for 30 days. Sign up here and get your monk on.
Sex is A-OK.
The longer version is below, which includes juicy details, more options for women, and some farewell-porn suggestions…
###
You know who you are, you filthy animals.
Secret bookmarks to Pornhub (“Discount airfare” – Ha!), secret folders labeled “Tax Returns” for when wifi fails, bookmarks for animated GIFs in case of slow connections (curtsy to Tumblr), Hotspot Shield for when you’re in countries that ban your cherished images (download it before you fly!)…
Oh, wait. Am I projecting again?
Yes, I’ve admitted it before, and I’ll admit it again: dudes watch porn on the Internet. Shocker, I know. All those guys on the magazine covers? They do it, too.
Less obvious, perhaps, is how dramatically your life can change if you quit porn and masturbation for a short period.
I did this for 30 days recently, and — oddly enough — I found it much easier and more impactful to quit booze for the same 30 days. Just a few of the benefits I experienced included…
- A dramatic surge in free testosterone and sex drive. Dozens of my seemingly healthy male friends, techies in particular, have approached me over the years about chronically low testosterone. There are many potential causes, including late-night blue light, but removing booze and porn appear to open the flood gates. Research (example, example)Â shows that alcohol reduces testosterone levels. So…should you be dating more? Trying a little harder instead of wanking, watching Battlestar Galactica, and calling it a night? This will help motivate you.
- Increased ability to focus and cognitive endurance. This goes along with increased “T” mentioned above.
- Getting roughly 50-100% more done. When you aren’t nursing hangovers, chewing up 3-4 hours per night with friends, destroying your sleep with booze, or procrastinating with porn (you know who you are) — miracle of miracles — you get more done! A LOT more done. In my mind, this alone easily justifies a 30-day booze and porn fast. You’ll clear off that goddamn to-do list faster than Speedy Gonzales. And remember: sex is still allowed.
Join Me for Another 30 Days
Given how transformative this was for me, I’m inviting you to join me for another 30 days. After that, you can go back to your hedonistic ways. I enjoy porn, but I’ve concluded I can level up by taking breaks.
I’ll refer to our 30-day challenge as NOBNOM (NO Booze, NO Masturbating), as the acronym itself sounds pornographic. We gotta make this sumnabitch memorable.
Next steps are described below.
NOTE: If you don’t masturbate (a lot of women don’t but should), or if you otherwise don’t watch enough porn to care about abstaining, here’s another option:
NOBNOC — No Booze, No Complaining
For this version, please first read “Real Mind Control: The 21-Day No-Complaint Experiment.” Then, join the same NOBNOB challenge page to be part of the community.
Next Steps — Do It Now!
1. STEP 1 – Join the NOBNOM goal page here. This is free, and it will keep you accountable to yourself and others.  This official challenge starts August 1st.  That means you get to go crazy on September 1st.  If you’re reading this another time, you can start whenever.  I’m sure people will still be on the page.
2. STEP 2 – If you’re really serious, up the ante and put some cash on the line. As discussed at length in The 4-Hour Chef, without stakes or consequences, about 70% of you will fail. So… choose not to fail.
Below are two options, and I earn nothing from either. I’d suggest doing both of them, if possible:
- A. Create a betting pool with a few friends or co-workers. Each person commits $100 or whatever (enough to sting if lost, but not enough to bankrupt you) to the pot, and those who complete the full 30 days split the pot. Using this type of betting pool is partially how Tracy Reifkind lost 100+ pounds, so you can definitely use it on NOBNOM.
- B. Get an accountability coach by clicking here. They’ll email you daily to keep you on track, and you get the first week free by using coupon “NOBNOM.” It’s otherwise $14.99 per week, so the month costs you $45. There are two coaches, and they have bandwidth for 200 people. The coaches: one is a former senior staffer from OneTaste (remember the 4-Hour Body orgasm chapters?). The other coach successfully stopped masturbating and is trained in accountability coaching.
3. STEP 3 – If you’d like to participate in 1-3 support meetings and private Q&As, sign up for my e-mail list and you’ll get the invites. I’ll probably host live video chats, 60-minutes long, and I’ll dedicate 15-20 minutes to the AA meeting-type stuff. Â The NoFap page on reddit might also be helpful for some of y’all.
And that’s it!
How You Get Paid
I’m putting $1,000 of my own cash on the line, and Lift (which I advise) is putting up $500, for a total of $1,500.
Here’s how you get it:
1) You must complete the 30-day challenge (Aug 1-31, 2014) on the NOBNOM goal page I’ve linked to throughout this post. We’ll audit this.
2) You must put some of your cash on the line, using one of the above listed approaches. It shouldn’t be enough to hurt you, but it needs to be enough to motivate you.
3) You must leave helpful feedback, tips, and/or encouragement for others, on both that page and in the comments below.
After the challenge, the Lift team, my jury of magic elves, and I will choose the three (3) most helpful people, and each will get $500 USD. Bam!
Get excited and get on it.
So, What Are You Waiting For?
If you’ve been feeling less than super-productive, slightly lethargic, or mildly depressed, do this 30-day challenge. If you simply want to level-up your life, do this 30-day challenge.
At the very least, it’ll make you conscious of automatic behaviors. Â Things you’ve done for so long that you know nothing else.
If you’re like me, once the fat starts melting off and you’re feeling like a different person, you’ll say to yourself:
“Holy shit, my baseline for the last 10 years [or 5 or 15 or whatever] has been fucked! I totally forgot what it feels like to live clean.”
Perhaps living clean ended for you after high school, or even before, as it did for me. Why not get reacquainted for 30 days?  Chances are that it’s been a while.
A Parting Gift
If you need a last hurrah before 30 days of being a good boy or girl, here are a few options for party time:
- A bottle of 2011 Ménage à Trois red. It’s delicious.
- A viewing of “Momoko and Anjelica,” available through Ze Google. It’s also delicious, and DEFINITELY not suitable for work.
- A chaser of club soda with lots of lime. You might be having lots of these, so get friendly.
Welcome to Thunderdome! Â You’ll thank me later.
See you on NOBNOM central.
Pura vida,
Tim
The Tim Ferriss Show is one of the most popular podcasts in the world with more than one billion downloads. It has been selected for "Best of Apple Podcasts" three times, it is often the #1 interview podcast across all of Apple Podcasts, and it's been ranked #1 out of 400,000+ podcasts on many occasions. To listen to any of the past episodes for free, check out this page.
Comment Rules: Remember what Fonzie was like? Cool. That’s how we’re gonna be — cool. Critical is fine, but if you’re rude, we’ll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation! (Thanks to Brian Oberkirch for the inspiration.)
Women watch porn too and get addicted. Just saying since your photo is of a woman holding beer. Nice challenge, I’ll try it.
Hey all, for what it’s worth I don’t recommend 30 days no mast AT ALL. I personally lost the ability to “shoot” after 30 days of “inactivity.” It took me 3 years to get back to even 40% of volume output. Normal diet etc. I was 19 or 20 when it happened. 24 now. Use it or lose it.
Yeh I don’t buy that. Either you’re lying because you’re bored, or you had something wrong with in the first place.
Did you read it properly? No masturbation, sex is still okay. 😉
He was prob on some sri. I was a basket case at that age too. I couldnt climax around that time period as well. It wasnt because of no fab tho.
Hey @Todd, sorry to hear that you experienced some of the problems of “inactivity”. On the NoFap forum and YourBrainOnPorn.com, you’ll notice that a lot of guys go through that exact same problem. Medically speaking it seems to be part of the down-regulation of dopamine receptors due to artificial spiking of dopamine during orgasm from masturbation.
A lot of guys experience ED for months after moving on from their addiction. But after a few months (usually 90 to 100 days) erections become harder and longer than they ever were while looking at porn.
Good luck man.
I’m sorry to hear that Todd. I recommend you speak to your physician about this issue as I think it has more to do than just masturbation
Tim – So, if a requirement is to put some money toward it, I’m wondering where exactly that money goes? It would hardly be considered your $1000 if it comes from the participants themselves. And to those who succeed in this challenge, would they be repaid for their original investment?
The money you contribute doesn’t go into this challenge. You either do a pool among your own friends or you shell out some cash to hire an accountability coach.
Yep, Hi daisy, some used stikk, but here’s how we did our betting pool: we used Dietbet (Named NOBNOM DIETBET) for a $25 stake http://www.dietbetter.com/games/47792
” …I’m wondering where exactly that money goes?” – here, he/she who lose 4% of their bodyweight, will get their money back from the betting pool PLUS the money of the “losers”: those who didnt lose weight. Join us 🙂
I know that any of us can do this. Maybe do push-ups or go running instead of masturbating. Whatever you do, this is a great way to prove your self-control. If anyone would like an accountability buddy, just get in touch. I’d be happy to help.
Hey Warren. I’m all in for this and could use an accountabilibuddy. You should be able to reach out to me via facebook. Let’s do this thing–anyone else care to make this interesting and get a pool together?
Warren, I need an accountability buddy
I also need an accountability buddy!
Guys, accountability a a must, but I think we can do it on Lift. If you prefer FB, look me up: W Pan Abbott. Send me a message if you like. This is totally doable. It shouldn’t be tough for me, and I’m happy to help out.
I got better things to do in life then to masturbate and dink, smoke, get high etc.I don’t understand how people have time for this bullshit.I don’t see the big deal in this.
You sound like a fun guy. 😉
Amen brother. Great men didn’t waste their time wanking off behind closed doors under their desks.
If they didn’t it was because they were spending time with their mistresses and prostitutes. Have your listened to this from hardcore history show #20 “(BLITZ) History Under The Influence?”
well if this is strictly for some kind of system re-set, I get it. Otherwise, this seems goofy. My questions is, why does everything have to be all or nothing? isn’t there a third way – like thoughtful balance? Is it not possible to do something between abstinence and alcoholism? I agree that excess partying can be bad and I think daily porn viewing can create bad mind habits for guys in sexual relations. I would, however, submit that you’d have to have a problem before needing to fix one. If a guy loves beer and meets up with his friends 2 times a week to relax, how is that wrong? I think it’s 10x more effective to get rid of TV and watching the news. Social media is an amazing time suck for most people. This challenge is very male orientated by the way. It’s downright silly for girls to go 30 days without touching themselves. This whole thing smacks of puritanism to me and maybe just a way to pump up Lift. I think some folks enjoy the feeling of being buzzed whether it be alcohol, weed or whatever. It can be relaxing and relieving stress is important. I have no problem with folks that don’t drink but again when they talk it feels a bit like ex-smokers’ holier-than-thou routine. I personally don’t think that life is to be lived 100% full throttle efficiently 24 hours a day. I think that Charlie Hoehn would want you to schedule some play time in there. And some of us like an occasional adult beverage in our play time. Cheers!
Imho, it should be all or nothing for the set period. Otherwise, you will never actually commit, therefore rendering the entire excersize useless.
After that, it does not have to be all or nothing. You do not have to NOBNOM for ever. But, again, not really committing does not accomplish anything.
Hi Chris, thanks for the honesty man. As someone who’s experienced a tremendous amount of the negative effects of porn/masturbation, I’d argue that moderation in this area is not effective. For many with physiological conditions for addiction, both porn and booze create a downward spiral where their drug of choice becomes increasingly important for their daily “survival.” In an effort to break free of the negative effects of porn, most people have to give it up completely.
Porn is not sex. Porn is rewiring your brain to rely on unrealistic amounts of dopamine coupled along with tens of thousands of women. Your brain can’t handle that. That’s the reason moderation doesn’t work with porn.
Two things I never would have thought about giving up when I was 20 but now I think it would be good for a break. Mainly, I’m curious how it will affect my social and dating life. Conventional wisdom is that alcohol is a social lubricant and masturbation helps you relax around the fairer sex. After reading Tim Ferris it’s very clear he’s all about challenging conventional wisdom. Strap me in. I’m on board. No excuses. Good luck to everyone over the next 30 days. Together we can wake up while saving a ton of money on tissues and bar tabs!
One thing I’ve never seen Tim mention is that ejaculation wastes massive amounts of vital energy. Men can NEVER live their full potential energetically,spiritually,physically – because they are too busy WASTING themselves by coming. This is the most valuable information you will ever read. The Taoist tradition for withholding ejaculation is the most popular access point to this information but sexual yoga and tantra etc etc books discuss. Miles Davis discussed it in an interview. Seperate orgasm and ejaculation. NEVER ejaculate unless you are procreating.
Thanks Rachel, I’ll keep that in mind. 😉
ah yes….male specific advice from a woman. and no sources.
Ummm… we can’t have an orgasm without ejaculating. Atleast I can’t.
Hey Tim, I’m muslim, so I don’t drink. I’ve recently quit masturbation completely since about 29th of June and don’t intend on going back. Since Ramadan (month of fasting) came, I decided to go clean altogether. This will be my second month of abstinence when this challenge begins! Bring it on 🙂
Ha!I literally made this vow starting july 2nd for the next 12 months until I pass med school board exams
This sounds like an old Seinfeld episode 🙂
Would you believe that I’m fapping as I sign up for this challenge? I really need help. Alcohol is an issue too, but I can lay off booze for a month easy
Is Tim’s reader base really this slanted gender-wise, or are women just not participating in this particular challenge?
This is going to be awesome! Just signed up on Lift 😀 Will be blogging about this too. I was able to accomplish the same feat for almost a semester. After 6 years, let’s see if I can do this again ahaha
Porn is addictive, a time waster and I believe an energy, esteem, and potency destroyer. But, it is everywhere and so hard to shut off. Can also ditto most everything for alcohol, plus the unknown health implications.
A great initiative, I will commit!
Well, it’s interesting that prolactin levels rise after orgasm in men and androgen and dopamine tend to fall; also given the effect of alcohol on prolactin, and the estrogenic effect of some alcoholic beverages (beer, for example given the phytoestrogens in hops), it makes a lot of sense that abstaining from these things for periods of time can increase androgen levels and probably neurotransmitters like dopamine (or receptor sensitivity). So, I am totally on board, since I am in a burnout phase of too much sex, too little sleep, and not taking care of myself. I will abstain from booze and masturbation, and possibly even sex for the month of august….
How about this instead of a 30 day challenge to not masturbate: get a ‘definite chief aim’ for your life which will keep one busy so one won’t really need to masturbate and drink because of not having anything better to do (that doesn’t refer to the people who are doing it because they can’t stop it due to a serious psychological issue)… OK, I see that this post is supposed to be ‘in the name of science and productivity’. But come on… really now?!?
Hi Tim!
Can you please attach some platform or service where me and fellow participants can bet their money?
Can you make it obligatory condition?
I am totally in, but I don’t want to discuss and bet with my coworkers\friends.
Thanks for great initiatives!
I’m on board. Have tried this a few time but lost my motivation. Start counting.
Thanks,
T
This is absolutely infuriating. I just did this in July. I took the month off of booze intentionally and didn’t masturbate because, well, I didn’t need to do so. I’ve already committed to drinks for a birthday and will not be continuing for August. No one told me I could’ve been paid for it!
great post Tim!
I would find it very useful if you keep us updated with how you manage urges and describe the difficulties you faced.
I think that this would be the crucial point to share success.
I’m from Italy, and alcohol is very that social…but 30 days…challange accepted! I will enjoy water instead of red wines or weiss beer, it can be a good 0 point to hit to re set my gustatory pathways.
Reminds me of that one Seinfeld episode. You know what I’m talking about.
thanks for posting a hot girl image on this topic.
I did this kind of challenges a couple times for a few weeks and noticed some effect that will or happend during this challenge:
– Testosterone will rise up
– You’ll be more confident
– Your sex drive will increase
– You’ll become more social (speaking with strangers will be easier)
– You’ll be more focused
– Your eyes will be like sharp blades. Watch women in their eyes, don’t look away when you get eyecontact and you’ll see what i mean 😉
– You’ll get that strong vibe around you which will be noticed by everyone around you. Especially women. It’s like they can sense it.
– And many more
So give it a try and see for yourself. It will be worth it i promise!
The no alcohol part will be easy enough. I’ve just gone from not having any for 4 weeks, already 1 week in again. Simple. The second part though, oh boy. We’ll see 😛
Good luck everyone!!
Oh, here’s a tip that might help some of you on the porn side of things. Often we will get that urge, do our business and feel bad afterwards. What I have found useful in the past is installing some extensions/add-ons to your browser that block out sites with the key words of your choice, so in this case porn sites.
Chrome – https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/block-site/eiimnmioipafcokbfikbljfdeojpcgbh?hl=en
Firefox – https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/blocksite/
Joined! This totally excites my mind :).
Question: How could I put cash on the line to be eligible for the reward? This will motivate me better!
I’d like to suggest abstaining from weed as well during the 30 day period, can be counterproductive and lead to relapses very easily.
Here’s my advice. If going it alone don’t put your money up on your favorite charity, put it up against your least favorite. Like cats? find the world organization of kitten fur coats. Hate animals? PETA. You get the idea. Its suppose to piss you off to lose. Im a gun enthusiast that hates the NRA (not here to discuss politics) so if I lose I’ll join for a year.
Challenge Accepted! I don’t currently drink booze, but maybe instead I should give up caffeine and give my adrenals a bit of a break. I guess it would be NOCNOM for me. This is going to be hard I love me some bulletproof coffee and a rousing game of pocket pool. Time to Caligula it up for one last day before retiring to the monastery.Good luck to you all.
Took advantage of a trip to Morocco for 7 weeks w/o booze, masturbation and sex. My liver and brain were so grateful, but I wouldn’t say the same about my lower parts…
I am in. I have been wanting to stop masturbation for a while without long term success. Also, I am a Catholic with an irregular marriage and the church wants me and my wife to abstain from sex until we make our marriage sacramentaly right.
So for me it will be no porn, sex, masturbation or booze.
Let the good (God) times roll!
Sex is what makes you one-flesh, marries you in God’s eyes, connects you as man and wife. Paul says you should only deny each other sex under mutual consent, and for a time, for prayer. No where in the Bible is there any precedent for any religious leader or body to direct a man and his wife to stop their sexual activity. (What is an irregular marriage, by the way???)
Interesting… Tim Ferries is always inventing new challenges. I heard that it takes 30 days to build a habit, keep up the good work, Tim!
Ok, so I’m sure I’m not alone here but when I get horny, I can’t even think straight until I rub one out or have sex. How do you suggest going about this? I don’t have a regular partner and masturbate or have sex at least once a day. I drink quite a lot too but obviously can quite that for 30 days, but no masturbating? That might be an issue for a guy without a regular partner.
I’m a sex researcher and doctoral candidate who specializes in pornography use. My husband is a huge fan of yours, and so am I (by spousal default ;)…I’m curious if you’re familiar with the neuro research on porn and if so, why are you proposing no masturbation and not just no masturbation to porn?
This is not a real researcher but a sex offender – who hates men and tries to feel less inferior by mocking the losers
she doesnt have a clue-
from the feminist academic whistle blower
I subscribed but I don’t understand how it works and where I put the comments or feedback… or where I put the money. I can’t find any option on the site with putting a credit card or something like that.
Tim, this is really freakin cool of you man. It’s really funny and timely too because recently I told a friend of mine that I wanted to do a 30-day no sex or masturbation challenge just to see how I would change and benefit from that. This was about a week ago and I’ve been taking it halfway seriously since then (doing better and more focused etc) But the timing on this COULD not be better.
I’m going to join this challenge and succeed, For someone like myself who naturally has high testosterone and sex drive it will be a real challenge but I know the rewards will be worth it.
It’s funny too because a time in my life when I was least controlled or unfocused by sexual arousal in my work and being in my flow state was when I lived in Costa Rica in 2012, living the Pura Vida life out of American society was great for me then as well as the few months spent living in CR earlier this year. It’s interesting b/c in that environment it’s much easier for some reason, maybe because of the ocean, jungle, monkey’s, sunshine and natural environmental sensory stimulation there is some sort of sensual need being met that is deficient in the city where sex lies, in the city… ohh television.
Anyways… back in the city now so this will be much more of a challenge.
This will be really fun, i’m going to be an active participant and supportive role in this challenge because it will be cool to see how people grow and evolve from this. Maybe the next Nikola Tesla will come out of this sexual transmutation-type challenge! lol!
Cheers man… Thanks for the challenge! and Pura Freakin Vida.
David
That sounds pretty interesting. I knew that alcohol has a negative impact on testosterone…but masturbation…
Tim, are you aware there’s a community of redditors that do this? We are called NoFappers and you’d be blown away by the benefits some guys have from just cutting out porn and masturbation.
We don’t do the alcohol, but here is the link.
http://www.reddit.com/r/NoFap/
Alex
There are many issues that us guys face that can make it incredibly difficult to abstain from our membrane. I mean hell watch any normal show and the commercials alone are enough to drive some of us to spank bank time. Plus unless you are trying to use it to sleep, you really don’t want to do much after. So I say let’s try this, and yes I’m right there with ya, when you feel that overwhelming urge to choke that chicken go outside and do it. That’s right, if you feel you can’t control it and no one is there to help you then go outside and do it. Normally (I say this because there are voyers out there) this will discourage most people because they don’t want the world to see them do this also the law is kind of a deterrent to. Hope this helps. Keep up (no pun intended) the great work!
I’m in! Day 1: I’m going to see Cosmic Gate and Andrew Rayel at the Palladium. Plan on staying sober and getting high off the music sets.
Thanks for writing about this, Tim! It’s a problem for so many of us.
I’m glad to say I’m 10 months sober from masturbating and other sexual deeds such as flirting with women other than my wife, or meeting them at dating sites.
What helped me to achieve this is that I’m a member of an AA-styled community (SLAA). It’s really a fantastic program. In this 10 months the rewards has been really great. I’ve never felt so relaxed and successful in my life before.
I think this approach (NOBNOM) can also work for a lot of people, since it involves a community and stakes.
Maybe I’ll join the challenge. I’m not a drinker, so I think it would be relatively simple for me now. But who knows… 🙂 I’ve learned never to be too confident in the future, and take one day at a time.
G
What is the longest time you have comfortably gone without orgasm/ejaculation to this point? Four days? A week? Keep that in mind before putting too much money on the line. This will be great for your marriage, as you’ll turn your energy away from fapping towards generating intimacy with your wife. Those of you flying solo though, you’re in for a REALLY long month.
I can certify this is exactly what you’re gonna get after 30days of no booze no porn. I almost double my T count with the “no-jerk off” protocol, but I also did some other interventions like eating a high fat very low carb diet, lifting heavy weights, and cold thermogenesis just to name a few.
Count me in Tim! Higher T levels makes you feel more manly, increases the libido and the sex drive. It’s great! 😉
I will lay down a T(Rx) in the following weeks so guys interested, shoot me a message. It’s important for the perpetuation of our species 🙂
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ljqvyM1B1J0/U7Rz5MSwG8I/AAAAAAAAKv0/1kJh3cPDsJU/s1600/giphy.gif
Let’s do this thang! I love Lift and have used it to create a meditation habit. I’ve done something similar to this before but never lasted 30 days. Let’s stay in radio contact and make it happen.
Peace, Love, etc…
I will be the master of my domain!!!!!!!
Hey Tim,
No booze and No Masturbation, so would you say that having SEX during anytime of the 30 days will still work with this challenge? 😉
Also, if anyone is looking for an accountability partner, just ask.
I’ve gone over 30 days without masturbating before and voluntarily went two years without drinking any alcohol (I started back up after those two years, so now’s a great time to abstain from it).
I’ll rescind the question I had, clearly I wasn’t paying attention to what I read.
Am up for NOBNOM challenge, i did go NOB 2 years ago for 1-2 months the results were awesome- lost 7 kilos n felt very light..haven’t gone NOM …thought of it but havnt so far…anyway am up for this challenge …lets do this b***h.
If a girl jerks me off, is that cheating? Is a blowjob ok? What about foreplay? Alcohol is easy, i’ve done that many times before.
I went my whole life without booze and 6 months without masturbating just to see if I could. Without girlfriend that means no orgasm for 6 months, not just jerking off. It wasn’t that hard, just takes some determination.
For 3 or 4 times I have stayed 30 days or longer without ejaculating. Also many times i have stayed without drinking, not necessarily both at the same time. It gave me so much energy. But I masturbated. Always. And watch porn. Just to clarify: i can not even play with myself?
I recommend you check out this website: http://yourbrainonporn.com/
It will answer your concerns about porn and masturbation. If you suffer from a lot of the symptoms of porn addiction such as lack of energy, vitality and libido, chances are watching porn but not masturbating is making it worse. It’s not the ejaculation itself that is the problem as so many of us think. It’s the constant stimulation of the brain when you watch porn that causes it to react to the high like a drug. By fapping to porn you are reinforcing that behavior and if you don’t orgasm, you’re stuck in even longer transfers of ‘being high’. I’ve done that for over a year before I decided to stop watching completely. It is not easy, try taking it one step at a time e.g. 1 week, then 2 weeks etc…
While I agree with the challenge, I find the site you link to full of unsubstantiated claims. extremely shoddy research, and excessive moralising.
This challenge comes at a perfect time for me. I am in! I look forward to feeling healthier and getting better sleep for the next 30 days. I love red wine, but in the past couple of years, it has increasingly disrupted my sleep.
Best of luck to you! I find that having some kombucha or kevita in a wine glass with dinner gives me a very similar enjoyment without the buzz and has the healthy pro-biotic content. give it a shot if you find yourself craving wine!
I’m not so naive as to think most men don’t masturbate or use porn.
Porn is, however harmful to women, children, and to society in general (see this article for great info including links to studies: [Moderator: link removed]
Call me silly, but a call for 30 days of abstinence isn’t enough. The backbone of civilization is the family. Porn destroys the family.
I’m sorry, I didn’t realize that link would be a problem. For anyone interested, you can search The Matt Walsh Blog I hate porn
Business recommendations. Food recommendations….and now porn recommendations. haha
Prohibition of masturbation lol
Well I can’t speak for everyone, but my productivity goes way down when I don’t yank the chain! I’ve made runs at this after break ups to try and motivate myself to find someone new, and I cannot do much else but think about girls. Usually after day five or six I was getting almost nauseated weird sexual feelings in my stomach at the site of a fräulein. This mountain seems steep for those not gettin’ it on with lady friends, and who are actually storing up mana for 30 days straight.
I’m already out Jerry
For those worried about abstaining from alcohol, I have a tip. You’ll never regret skipping a drink when you wake up the next day, but you will regret giving up on the challenge if you decide to have a drink. Keep this in your head for those difficult late night moments, it works. Source: Haven’t had a drink in 2 years.
This one is going to be tough for me, but it’s past time I did something about my bad habits. I signed up for an accountability coach on Lift and decided to back up my commitment with a $100 anti-charity pledge at stikk.com – another site I learned about here. Let’s do this!
Use this as an excuse to go meet some women… or men if that’s your fancy. It doesn’t say no sex, just no masturbation. The point is to quit wasting time with things that just make you feel good for a few minutes. Use this as an excuse to get away from a computer screen and find something better. You could meet someone that could potentially be your partner for life. Take note of how you feel without booze providing your courage, ask yourself why you feel that way and in turn learn yourself and better yourself. It’s an experiment but the end result could be life changing.
That’s a great attitude to have, though I would strongly advise not making meeting women a primary goal for doing this challenge. Meeting women should be a side effect. Making them a primary goal is rather precarious because any rejection or bad night can set you back and cause you to relapse. It makes you dependent on the outcome and female validation. I’ve failed many nights after going out and making unsuccessful approaches. Do it for yourself.
Well said my friend! As a society we tend to waste a lot of time in the pursuit of hedonistic instant gratification. delayed gratification is so much more rewarding though! I’m going in to this challenge knowing it will be tough, but I’m also challenging myself within the challenge. Every day I’m setting a goal to do something that is slightly outside my comfort zone (Hot Yoga class for day 1) do you have any suggestions? I feel like this will enhance my overall experience.
What about the difficulty in concentrating, if you are single? I understand no sex, but for me after 5 days my mind is completely aray. Thought sequence will be like “get work done, I wonder what she looks like naked. Wow who’s that? Get work done. I wonder how she is in the sack…” Haven’t you seen 40 Days and 40 Nights. I’ve tried it and it seriously is semi painful. This seems to be the biggest challenge in my mind. What do you guys recommend for those who are single and how do you recommend controlling the break down and urges to think about females in a sexual capacity?
I understand we can have sex*
This is tough. I too will have to abstain from not only booze and masturbation, but sex as well for at least the first half of this challenge (my girlfriend is having a medical procedure done and needs two weeks minimum recovery time) I plan on upping the ante on my physical exercise, setting small daily goals, using the support of friends and my significant other and I also hired a coach for this challenge. If you find yourself slipping, redirect your thinking to something non-sexual and try to stay busy. This is a great time to catch up on all that stuff you keep “putting off” hope this helps.
I’ve been trying to quit for 2 years and the best thing I can tell you is don’t fight it. When you get the urges, it’s not the urges themselves that cause us to masturbate, rather the connection between the urge and porn/masturbation that we have developed in our minds over time. Let yourself feel the urge and experience it for what it is,embrace it. And don’t touch your cock lol. It can be very difficult as a single guy not getting some (trust me, I would know), but over time that anxiety will turn into healthy libido and confidence instead of negative sexual frustration. I would also install K9 or some other web blocking app on you computer, write down a difficult password on a piece of paper and give it to a trusted friend.
RL
Do the physical exhaustion thing by starting a new workout routine or upping the exertion in your current workout routine. Also, I would make sure you mentally exhaust yourself. In doing this, I think you’ll find you don’t get so caught up in the “How is she in the sack?” thoughts. Don’t get me wrong, we’re men, that’s just what we do but don’t let it own you. Start reading more, learn another language, learn to play an instrument, take an art class or cooking class. My assumption is the quality of woman you meet doing any of these other activities has far more potential than the one at the bar until last call. Do something besides pounding beers and Jagger Bombs and watching the game at the local watering hole. Don’t stop hanging out with the guys for the game but switch things up a little. Do something you’ve always wanted to do but haven’t and use NOBNOM as an excuse.
Signed up, got a coach, and I’m putting some money on the line! I’m also going to set small daily goals and maybe some weekly ones to enhance my challenge experience. Day one: Hot Yoga class. I’m up for suggestions tell me what you guys think!
Porn is evil…ask Kevin Rose.
Hi, I’m a 25 y/o single male living in NYC and have been going out sober for over 5 years. While sober, I have approached many women and hooked up with a few, water in hand. I’ve also been an active participant in reddit’s nofap for a year and am currently on 70 days of no masturbation. I’d be happy to help anyone here or answer any questions. Good luck everyone!
No booze, I get. But the second part…sex can be had, but no masturbating? Gee, those of us who are single with no partners are thrilled with that one. I don’t get it! I feel like I need more info on how this is supposed to benefit me. Also, I may be temporarily brain-dead as I just finished my master’s degree final projects, but where are the “more options for women”? I didn’t see them.
I don’t see a ton of women signing on for this challenge as to me it really is a challenge more aimed at guys as it’s currently written.
So here’s my tweak to what I’ll do for the 30 day NOBNOM) challenge:
No porn = no erotica, romance novels or any other written form of porn ( a way bigger addiction for most women than porn is)
No Masturbation = OM or other Tantric meditation everyday, 5 min. minimum. Stocking the fires as it were instead abstaining, which doesn’t work the same way for most women as it does for men (at least in my experience).
No Booze = No Sugar – I don’t drink much alcohol so this is easy, but I have a terrible sweet tooth so no desserts for 30 days will be way harder.
Ok. Any other ladies want to join in on? Want to join a betting pool?
Excellent tweaks for women! I agree with all observations.
You mean withOUT right?
I can understand alcohol is not good for health but what’s wrong with masturbation.
It’s not masturbation that is the main issue imo, it is masturbation while watching porn. Over time you condition your brain to be stimulated strictly by porn and fantasy, which results in a lot of shame and ED problems in many men. There is a lot of science behind this, but it is basically like a drug, and the more you take it, the more your body craves it and everyday things don’t become fun or enjoyable anymore as your brain is only pursuing that ‘high’.
Shouldn’t it be NOBNOPNOM (or NOBPM) – No Booze, No Porn, No Masturbating? Because It’s possible to watch porn without masturbating, isn’t it?
Because it seems like you’re saying we should avoid 3 things, but the acronym only says to avoid 2 things . . . ? Just a thought.
I tried watching porn with masturbating. It’s TERRIBLE. So, I advise avoiding both.
You mean withOUT, right?
Tim, excited to get this done. Just added to my existing Lift “habits” (which I always struggle with, but keep working to get better at). Signing up for an accountability coach as well.
Let’s do it!
Nick
NOBNOM may be hard in certain moments, but remember it’s small choices every day that add up to big changes down the road.
Hah, this is awesome. In for the challenge!
It should be called the “Living the LDS(Mormon) lifestyle challenge.” 😉
Minus the unlimited sex part…
Who’s the girl in the photo?
Wish I knew.
I didn’t read all the comments, but I think it’s a VERY important distinction between masturbation and porn. The former isn’t necessarily harmful until it is mixed – and conflated – with the latter. Working toward thinking about masturbation for guys or girls as akin to a meditative, self-love practice is WAY more beneficial than strict abstinence. That said, a 30-day “cleanse” may be a powerful starting point.
I joined the challenge but how will lift make sure people are actually doing as they say?
oh i’m so in on this!
Did you mean to say ‘more impactful than quitting booze’ for the same 30 days?
I did this for 30 days recently, and — oddly enough — I found it much easier and more impactful to quit booze for the same 30 days. Just a few of the benefits I experienced included…
Super excited to get started on this, its going to be an interesting month. 3 of my friends and i are putting in 50 bucks each to keep us accountable like the Seinfeld episode, hopefully it turn out better for us. I will be uploading a video tomorrow on my YouTube channel Fit Life Academy for day one and once very week to keep everyone updated. Peace out 🙂
It’s on !!!
If it’s having a coach, an accounting partner, putting money on stake at Stickk… or all of it just make sure you put every changes on your side
And make it fun !!
I guess i can handle both, and I usually don’t compain.. So since it is about clearance I will try No Meat also during this time to make it a real challenge and see how it works for me…
Let’s pretend this is the 1920s, prohibition is in effect and the only thing to jerk off to are brassiere ads starring your grandma in black and white. If that doesn’t get your NOM going, I don’t know what will
I am in here is to a successful month everyone!
Going to try this for 30 days just found out my testosterone is pretty low especially for my age (26) and with my other health issues something I could work on and would help with my new business 😛
My T levels were pretty damn low a few years ago (26 at the time), and hadn’t improved much (didn’t do much or didn’t stick with things at the time). I’ve been better about it, but I need to get my levels tested again now that I’m 29 and been working out and eating paleo pretty consistently.
Good luck and stick with it! It can only get better from here on out if you follow through, right??
4hrs till start, ready to start this!
I first saw the NOBNOM challenge on your Facebook page at the end of a long, unproductive waste of a day nursing a unusually brutal hangover. My drinking is usually pretty under control. I love beer and have been working in the restaurant and bar industry for over 18 years. I love the biz, but am looking forward to a 30 day break. As to the NOM part of the challenge I have often thought I could stand to take a break from the habitual solo hand job ritual. Thanks for the challenge and the opportunity to get productive in August. Cheers!
Looking forward to gaining more control in my life. Good luck to all!
I had tried this before on my own. I have failed. But what I did find helpful was keeping myself busy. This time there is money on the line. Let’s do this!
What about weed?
I’m going to go with all illegal drugs are ok, I’m looking forward to it.
This is going to be interesting… let’s do this we can do it!
All in son!
Joined up on Lift’s NOBNOM page, got my goal/challenge setup on stickK.com, and finished that last 4 shots of Bulleit rye.
How’re y’all Ferrites doing tonight???
Doing good got my goal challenge set up on StickK.com too… and watching Jeopardy….
I’ll be joining in on this with the 3000+ of you and blogging it as the month goes along with results of what’s working (and what’s not).
Follow me at the blog below and comment on what’s working for you along the way!
icando30.quora.com
Sex? My wife will hate the NOBOFF challenge. How about the four hour marriage…and the 20 hours of cat housing. Tim I hope for your sake that you have the phone number of the hottie in the picture or sweet warm moist dreamss buddy.
Tim:
So sex (even with a hooker) is ok but masturbation is not?? Makes no sense. Also this is much harder for singles than married people. Should singles just f*ck anyone if they’re horny?
Now if you’d say to go porn-free for 30 days, THAT would have been a good idea for a challenge. But to force yourself not to masturbate even once in 30 days is just stupid.
Also there is no masturbation ‘hangover’ like in the case of booze. So why tie the two together??
You really jumped the shark, haha, with this one!
Any girls in the New Jersey area going to try this quiting booze and masturbation that want to exercise the free passage sex?
Nice tactic. Good luck dude.
So… this contest is for boys only? I don’t really need any more testosterone and I’m pretty sure that not masturbating isn’t going to change my T levels one iota.
Well, this certainly puts the “Nom Nom Paleo” website in a whole new light.
Thanks for this Tim. Been having trouble with the NOM since a rough breakup. Looking forward to re-mastering my emotions, my hormones, and productivity!
Sometimes taking care of and improving your own life is better than making her jealous with another woman, though that’s another different thing =]
WTF Tim first no carbs, now no porn or booze?! I might binge on all three…at the same time
If you take on one thing at a time, it will not seem so insurmountable. The idea is to work your way up slowly to these goals for a healthier living
The longest time without sex was probably around 1 month, as my wife and I are both tired, and our life is not too easy now. I feel there is a difference between short-term abstinence (a few days or weeks) and long-term (a few months). I start to feel sex deprived if we don’t have it for a month.
But those times I start to have wet dreams, so I do have orgasms. It happened about 3 times during this 10 month period.
This challenge is no way advocating that you do not have sex. In fact, the very opposite. Actual intercourse is healthy and normal. Think of it like this: sex is the gourmet meal but we’re settling for fast food (masturbation)
Hahah, this is brilliant. The longest I’ve lasted in this monk like state was two months, by which time I was tightly coiled spring of sexual tension. But being in a constant state of heat rocked on dates – I swear girls could sense it. This abstinence took me to almost Buddha like states of frustration but seemed to really improve my state of mind. Mind you, a little bit of ‘light relief’ now and again never hurt anyone (although it does make baby Jesus cry).