Hi *waves* I am quite shy too! I'm tending more towards regular introvert though as I'm growing in confidence, it's really helped my shyness. Maybe that seems weird as I'm prattling away at you here
Online is easier, it's too much in-person interaction that wears me down
As for losing weight making you happier, I'd say a bit of both. Being more comfortable in your own skin definitely increases confidence. But, there are no circumstances when you need to be thinking you're ugly! If you can accept yourself alone, then others can accept you too. And if they don't? Well, they are stuck being a**holes for the rest of their lives. Are you afraid that people are going to poke holes in your insecurity? When you feel like that, try taking the focus off yourself and thinking about the other person/people. Do you admire them? Want something from them (like in job interviews)? Want them to complement you? Compare yourself to them? Want to be friends? Want to hit them in the face with a frying pan?
Figure out your relationship to that person in your mind, and consider why you're coming up unfavourably in your own opinion. Journaling has helped me with this stuff a lot... If you feel ugly/inferior/whatever your thing is, start writing a stream of consciousness rant, and see what falls out of your head. Therapy can be good, it's like weight training for the mind and really helped me. Weight loss can make you feel more comfortable in yourself, but it won't make you love yourself if you hate yourself. That **** starts in the mind.
You only get so many f's you can give in a day, spend them on people who count. That includes yourself.
I hope you figure this out, and I'm going to subscribe to this thread as it's something that matters to me, it's probably the most important aspect of weight loss I went through and I always remember how much it meant to me to get this thinking under my control
*hugs*