How I relate to a fictitious character

Today I finished another book. A book that I've read 3 times over the past ten years.

Why have I read it 3 times? 

Here's the introduction of the book :- 

Jemima Jones is overweight. About one hundred pounds overweight. Treated like a maid by her thin and social-climbing roommates, and lorded over by the beautiful Geraldine (less talented but better paid) at the Kilburn Herald, Jemima finds that her only consolation is food. Add to this her passion for her charming, sexy, and unobtainable colleague Ben, and Jemima knows her life is in need of a serious change. When she meets Brad, an eligible California hunk, over the Internet, she has the perfect opportunity to reinvent herself–as JJ, the slim, beautiful, gym-obsessed glamour girl. But when her long-distance Romeo demands that they meet, she must conquer her food addiction to become the bone-thin model of her e-mails–no small feat. 

It's a chic lit which I borrowed from my cousin in my late teens. Back then I was still starry eyed looking for prince charming on the horse, reading chic lit phase. 

SPOILERS AHEAD. 

During my late teens, the first time I read the book I was super impressed with Jemima for losing the weight and gaining the guy. Though back then I was more impressed with the fairy tale ending. My reactions were :- 

"Oh wow she got thin"
"Aww, she got the guy. I wish I could find someone like that .. " 

I was blissfully dreaming of my own fairytale one day, jealous of a fictitious Jemima. 

The second time I read the book I was in my early twenties and I was jealous that Jemima had the will power and determination to lose all that weight. My reactions were :- 

"You go girl *secretly bitter*"
"Well, if I have a guy like Brad and Ben, I would totally work my ass off too" 

I felt like I could relate to the bigger Jemima. The one who felt insecure, shy and low confident Jemima. She was just like me, maybe I was smaller but when she lost that weight and became skinny I just brush her off as obsessive. 

The third time I started reading the book was because I lost some weight. It might not be a lot but it transitioned me from overweight to a healthy weight range. I finally have a waist! I wanted to see how I would feel about Jemima right now. 

Well aside from the cliche romance rubbish,  (Ben only loved Jemima after she got thin.. pfft. I became a realist since) I realized Jemima was pushing herself too hard with the workout and food that she portrayed an unhealthy character. 

The parts where she narrates on how she feels after she lost the weight though got me nodding and thinking "yep yep, I understand" even though I'm not blond and stick thin. 

Most importantly, I now believe that what Jemima has achieved can be done. At least in the end, she stopped being crazy about her weight and just decided to be healthy instead of being a skinny stick. 

Many people complained that this book is fat shaming and promotes unhealthy body image which will influence the younger girls but I just take the lesson out of the murky pool. I see it as a transformation not only for beauty but most importantly for health.    

This in turn has motivated me to go further.  

Later dayz,