I flipped past a popular weight-loss commercial yesterday and listened to their ridiculous promise to "lose weight fast and keep it off or your money back." They overused words like "enjoy," "simple," and "revolutionary" to entice fad-following consumers to jump on board. But if those consumers took a step back and looked inside themselves, they'd realize that the company is just trying to capitalize on the inconsistent nature of losing weight.

Sometimes, it really is easy to lose a few pounds. The weather gets nice and there are fresh vegetables in the garden. At other times it seems impossible, and that's when the weight loss companies jump in with a solution to make it easy again. The problem with being inconsistent is that we eventually fall prey to outside influences because we realize that our own plans aren't working.

So what would happen to a marketing message if there's no dedication to keeping it consistent? The same thing that happens to inconsistent dieters: lots of money spent, no results. It's hard to measure the effectiveness of a long-term goal in the first week or month, but that's often the time when we give up and move onto something else. However, if we believe in our message and we're consistent in how it's delivered, the results over time will be astonishing.

Remember, weight loss companies don't want us to stick with anything for very long because then we might actually see some results and won't need their products anymore. So as long as our diets are inconsistent and their marketing is steadfast and strong, we'll become a customer at some point. Just don't blame the company when their product doesn't work in the first month. They're the ones being consistent... and they've already cashed your check.