Greetings! If you were prescribed a low protein diet for the nephropathy, then yes, it is important to follow the diet you were instructed on. You could discuss a revisit of this issue with your physician, but too much protein could further compromise your kidney. In healthy individuals, a high protein diet can be handled by the body, but certain conditions, and yours is one, too much protein is detrimental. I understand your concern as you are a weight lifter and you do not want muscle break-down so your question is a good one. There is more to treating your condition than protein restriction. Are you following other guidelines? My diet manual states to follow a modest protein restriction with 50% of your protein coming from sources containing complete protein such as eggs, milk, meat and the rest of your protein from non-meat sources. Use high complex carbohydrates with fiber for energy and keep your sodium intake low if bloat occurs or blood pressure high. To assure efficient utilization of protein, assure a balanced diet with adequate calories to maintain a healthy weight. Your nutrition instructions were provided to you to prevent hyperfiltration of the kidney and slow down kidney deterioration. This part of the treatment is where you actively participate in your treatment plan, which in your case, is your diet. I hope I have assured you of the appropriateness of your prescribed diet for your condition. As far as taking supplementary amino acids on a low protein diet, if you were my patient I would not advise it. You can always follow-up with a dietitian to get everything planned out for your lifestyle on a personalized basis. Good luck. Kathryn Shattler, MS,RDN