You're right about it being a way of life, and the word diet does describe it accurately.

Diet is part of the title of Atkins book, so it makes sense that it's part of the description. Atkins uses "diet" in the true sense - the word diet has Greek roots and means a way of living - and not what most people have come to think of as "a diet".

As a reference, here's the etymology of the word diet:

diet (1) - "regular food," c.1225, from O.Fr. diete, from M.L. dieta "parliamentary assembly," also "a day's work, diet, daily food allowance," from L. diaeta "prescribed way of life," from Gk. diaita, originally "way of life, regimen, dwelling," from diaitasthai "lead one's life," and from diaitan, originally "separate, select" (food and drink), freq. of *diainysthai "take apart," from dia- "apart" + ainysthai "take," from PIE base *ai- "to give, allot." Often with a sense of restriction since 14c.; hence put (someone) on a diet (c.1440). The verb meaning "to regulate oneself as to food" (especially against fatness) is from 1660. An obsolete word for this is banting (q.v.). The adj. in this sense (Diet Coke, etc.) is from 1963, originally Amer.Eng.

Protein Power does not have diet in the title, CAD does, the Zone doesn't the GO-Diet does, etc.

It will be interesting to see what others have to say.

Karen