I'm not really sure about that. Here's a direct quote:

"In a mixed diet, a deficiency of an amino acid in one protein is made up by its abundance in another; such proteins are described as complementary; eg., the protein of wheat and beans combined provides a satisfactory amino acid intake. Under such circumstances, a greater total amount of protein must he consumed to satisfy requirements."

You might interpret that to read that in a 'mixed diet' (eating fruit/veg as well as pork and eggs and other 'high quality' protein) you can subtract the fruit/veg numbers from your protein totals - but the complementary aspect gives me pause. Since I don't want to get down to counting amino acids in my food, I'd rather just count everything and rely instead on the +/- 10% the diet allows -- if I really feel I need it, and if that extra amount doesn't derail the scale weight loss.


No, he states that athletes can eat up to 1.2g of protein per kilo of due weight if desired. I do weight training and am building muscle, but I don't consider myself an athlete. And it seems quite clear that biologically, my muscle is now quite happily getting all the extra sustenance it needs from my upped fat consumption, and stored body fat. I'm eating a fraction of the protein I did before, but still working out hard and still building muscle. Once I lose all my stored body weight it might be different, but I'll cross that bridge once I (happily) come to it.

Lisa