I think you’ll get two types of answer to this. The “puritanical” view is that suffering on fast day is part of “stressing” the body by fasting and therefore necessary. And, even though your stuff sounds fairly benign and without drugs, it’s still a concoction. This view also opposes use of sucralose, stevia etc. The “pragmatic” view is that anything that works is ok because the goal is calorie restriction on fast days, while suffering may be unavoidable, but not necessary for any of the benefits of fasting.

I’m in the latter camp myself, but I admit I could be wrong. And, I would advise that you make sure that this appetite suppressant is without any stimulants of any kind. There are many alkaloid stimulants that are dangerous. And, I will point out that there is always some risk with this kind of stuff, because you don’t really know what’s in it, at least not in the USA.

When I read the heading I immediately thought of amphetamines which I do not condone even though they are available on prescription.
The concoction described is mainly fibre and should be harmless in medical terms.

With regards to hunger: a lot of people will deliberately go hungry because it teaches you to distinguish between true hunger and an appetite. Most people in the Western world refer to an appetite or craving when they say hunger, because most of us do not experience hunger any more.
I don’t think that anyone has looked into fibre supplements and its effect on the health benefits of fasting.

Hi outrigger:

Fasting does not depend on a ‘struggle’. After you do 5:2 for awhile, you rarely feel hungry, and if you do it is for a very short time.

But you have to do it for a month or two for your body to become acclimated to its new feeding pattern. Most people that quit do it in the first two months. The current last post in this thread give my longer answer to your question: http://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/16-week-goal-anyone-want-to-join-in-and-see-how-far-we-can-get/page/2/#post-55815

Good Luck!

I read somewhere that almonds have natural appetite suppressing effects. Occasionaly If I’m having a hard time on a fast day, I eat about 10 raw almonds on the theory it might help. Comes out to 50 cal, which I count toward my 500.

But I think the main reason that 5:2 works for me, and has radically shifted my reaction to food and decreased my appetite, is that 2 days a week I experience being hungry and have learned that it’s just not that big a deal. It’s not about suffering – because as simcoeluv says, your body adjusts to it and you don’t suffer. It’s about learning to react to being hungry in a different way, learning that it passes quickly and is not that bad. I think embracing the hungry days, not fighting them, is key to making this way of eating work for the long term and probably is the difference between those who stick with it and those who don’t.