There's men with hundreds of lays who still haven't gotten lust "out of their system."
The more you indulge in something and cave into each & every urge, the more you train your brain to crave whatever that reward may be (sugar, sex, porn, food, etc). Addiction, essentially.
In my opinion, it's more practical to accept lust as a natural fleeting compulsion and respond to it accordingly by learning to experience the craving without resistance or indulging (via meditation).
Your idea that it's much easier to focus on self-improvement after spending your younger years chasing women is nonsensical. It's more easier to focus on self-improvement when you're not slave to temporary compulsions (lust, food cravings, binge watching Netflix or Youtube, etc). One of the way you become less prone to these compulsions is through meditation.
I agree, however, that once you've bedded more than a few women that it's a lot easier to be in an LTR without your mind wandering with curiosity what it's like to be with other women.