Obese, well going vegan help me loose weight? Any personal stories?!

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It depends on your body type. Some people lose weight switching to a vegan diet while others stay the same and a few even gain weight. The weight gaining vegans often eat too many simple carbs like vegan sweets, white rice, potatoes, etc.. and / or they are simply eating more than they used to.

When I became vegan 8 months ago, I shed a few extra pounds I was putting on from being a lacto-ovo vegetarian for 3 years. I loved dairy products and it was starting to show.

I think if you eat a balance of carbs and protein both, you may be one of the lucky vegans who loses weight.

Don't forget to research your non-dairy calcium sources because vegan women need this nutrient especially. I've drank 2 tall glasses of rice milk today and that's all the calcium I need.
Be careful of some calcium supplements that have D 3 in them. D 3 is animal derived.
Crunchy vegetables, nuts, seeds, (especially sesame), broccoli, and dark greens are all sources of calcium.

Vegans don't really need any vitamin supplements, though if we are eating enough variety of foods per day. It is only once in awhile I take a B 12 and Folic acid.

Congratulations for becoming vegan for the right reasons.

Edit: Cuttlefish ^^, I didn't DR you once... but I won't uprave you either because I think there's something to this veganism that makes a person healthier. It's true I been worried about calcium, but looking beyond a glass of some other species' milk is not as hard as it seems.

also a vegan for compassion

I'm 5'1 and weight 205.

Vegan for five years.

Weight loss = calories expended > calories consumed. Period.
Not eating this or that doesn't matter.

I have been vegan for about two months now, and just by changing my diet (I don't do much exercise), I have lost about seven pounds. You will lose more (even if you do something like walking) because you're heavier and will burn more calories. I recommend "1000 Vegan Recipes" as a cookbook. It's got yummy and good-for-you recipes. The author also talks to you about ingredients and so forth.
I do recommend taking a vegan multivitamin (I found mine on Amazon), just because we all have bad days where we don't eat well. I have quite a few days when I eat a ton of chips and not many veggies.
There's this show on A&E (actually I just saw it tonight) called "Heavy". I don't know if you've heard of it or watched it, but it's really inspiring. I was really happy seeing the participants losing their weight and getting happy too.
Good luck!

PS: I went vegan overnight. I did not die. There was a bit of a detox phase where I kind of felt like I had the flu, but that only lasted about three days.
Vegetarian (to the person above me) is not enough on moral grounds. I'm not trying to offend you, but a lot of abuse still happens because of milk and eggs. Dairy is not very healthy anyway. Think of the saturated fat and cholesterol! You can get calcium from plants, protein from nuts, seeds, and beans, and vitamin D from that big ball in the sky. :3 Have a nice day.

Vegan

When I went veggie (four years) I gained Weight like it was going out of fashion. If you have a problem with central obesity (fat tummy) going vegan will just make you hungry all the time from the lack of fat and protein in your diet and the excess carbs can seriously mess with your cholesterol.

Basically, signs a low protein veg/vegan diet will make you worse are;

central obesity
a family history of type II diabetes
acne after puberty (women)
excess facial or body hair (women)
irregular periods
a tendency to gain weight fast

Experienced and successful ex-veggie and low carb dieter (and PCOS sufferer).

To everyone who gave this a thumbs down.. all hail to your ignorance. Its people like you spreading incorrect information that cause people with metabolic syndrome/PCOS to get sicker.

I lost weight and got a lot fitter and healthier.
Think of all that animal fat that you won't be getting.
A vegan diet is a LOT healthier than a meat eaters - I can recommend the wall chart the Vegetarian & Vegan Society has. I have mine inside the vegetable cupboard so I can see easily I am getting all the necessary nutrients.
You do need to get more exercise as well to lose weight - running up & down the stairs is a good start. So is skipping, with or without a rope.
Good Luck

Vegan for many years and very fit & healthy

mab you will not suffer from a lack of animal fat or animal protein.
you will get all the fats you need for good health
you will get all the proteins you need for good health

I'm not a vegan but I am experienced with weightloss...

I think it depends a lot what you eat now. Going vegan will stop you from eating a lot of fast food; no more fried meats, burgers or meat-loaded pizzas, and no more dairy. And you'll have to prepare most of your own food most of the time, which totally empowers you to make the food choices which are right for you, which is really important for weightloss. BUT being vegan won't stop you from eating crisps/chips, baked goods and pastries, and drinking soda and alcohol, which are all major downfalls for a lot of people.

I think going vegan will be a great help for your weight, but you'll also need to exercise some willpower in terms of vegan snacks and portion sizes if you really want to see big results.

There's no reason a vegan should go short on fat or protein. Sources of healthy fats are olive oil, rapeseed oil, avocadoes, flaxseed, hempseed and nuts. Sources of protein are beans and pulses, hempseed and tofu. You can include these in virtually every meal with a bit of planning and care.

If you fancy trying it, there's a free food tracker at sparkpeople.com which can tell you how many calories you need to eat for weightloss (based on your weight, height, activity levels and weight goals) and can also show you all the nutrients you're getting. It's a great way to make sure your diet is properly balanced and keep you on track.

Good luck!

It all depends how you eat now. Cutting out foods like fast food and eating more healthful foods are going to go a long way alone.
There is plenty of crappy or high calorie, high fat foods that can be vegan.

You may want to check out Get Healthy, Go Vegan by Dr. Neal Barnard. It is a cookbook with some info on a vegan diet from the health perspective. All of the recipes are healthy. He makes suggestions like sauteeing veggies in vegetable broth instead of oil, etc. I have made a few of the recipes so far and liked a lot of them (only hated one so far)
My only issue with the book is it really doesn't go far enough into eating a balanced diet, but it has some great recipes to start with.

My own suggestion, pair eating well with exercise is much better than simply restricting what you eat.

Don't go vegan, just vegetarian is good. Being able to eat dairy will help. Vegans do need to supplement their diet because greens can't provide all the nutrients a human body would need, I hope you know that.
Also, take it easy, do the transition slowly. Most people would have a hard time adjusting to such an abrupt change of diet and that could affect your body's metabolism in a bad way. Messing with mother nature is bad, she'd make it even harder for you and you might even drop out. Do the transition slowly. It's like how you transit from one catfood brand to another (haha, I had a cat before, switching diets reminds me of him). A little at a time, a bit less meat with every meal. I had a friend who went vegetarian over the course of a several weeks. First beef went, then pork, then chicken, then finally lamb. It's harder than you think, so taking it slowly would help.
Hmm, also, changing diet is not thing only thing to losing weight, you also need to exercise! I have a dog, running with him keeps me fit. He loves it and I do too. He's the only reason I run these days, except to catch the bus. Arrange for a jogging/walking buddy. Or walk as part of your everyday life as a means of transport. Walking by yourself for no reason takes a lot of determination to keep up and it's easy to skip days.

Hey, don't hate me or thumb me down because I'm saying what most doctors would say. Going vegan is a bit extreme, we believe in a balanced diet, or at least I do. If I didn't change your mind, then I hope that you've thoroughly researched how to supplement your new diet.