I think Liz made some very valid points.
By choosing to lose weight, we are admitting either consciously or subconsciously that we
need to loose weight and admitting that to ourselves can lead to some negative thinking.
Once we decide to loose weight, suddenly it becomes a #1 priority and we can become somewhat obsessed with it, especially if dieting or controlling what you eat is a new concept for you. That's actually pretty natural as you are learning something new and it's an activity that you participate in at least 3 times a day. Suddenly all the rules have changed and you are trying to figure out "can I eat this or not?" 3 or more times a day. Maybe the loss of confidence in how we feel about ourselves is more of a reflection of our lack of confidence in our abilities with this new WOL we have chosen?
Once we decide on a weight loss goal, we also tend to get impatient and want to reach our goals in X number of weeks or months and find ourselves frustrated and beating ouselves up when our bodies don't cooperate with our pre-determined schedules. Ah, the far-reaching consequences of having grown up in an "instant gratification" society. It also doesn't help when many begin a low carb WOL with the idea that the weight will simply "fall off them" and then it doesn't work out that way; loosing weight is hard work no matter HOW you decide to do it!
I have to say that as my weight has decreased, I feel that my self-confidence has grown considerably. I'm not totally happy with how my body looks (okay...I'm still not happy at all with how my body looks), but I've made some great strides in taking control of that as well as my health and I feel good about what I've accomplished so far!
Will I be happy with how my body looks when I reach my goal? Hard to say. I think that no matter what we weigh, we will find something to not like about our bodies (look at all those stretch marks! I wish my nose wasn't so big! Why was I cursed with big hips??) unless we can learn to love ourselves "warts and all".
I know one thing...we all can and should be proud of taking control of our health and well-being and how much we have accomplished on our low carb journeys so far.