I just wanted to chime in as an overweight vegan. I used to be really heavy; about 52 pounds more than I am today. But a balanced vegan diet that includes many raw foods, along with running 5 miles three times a week, has done wonders for me.
Even when I'm busy, and can't run as much, I can still lose about 2-3 pounds per week. The only bump I had along the way was a period of about nine months, during which my girlfriend of the time and I lived together. She was sendentary, and didn't ever want to go to the gym, so I sort of matched her lifestyle. She was maybe only 10 pounds overweight, and very pretty, but she wanted to lose weight too. I didn't gain weight, for the most part, but I stayed steady for too long.
Last week we went out for dinner for her birthday. The first thing we said when we saw eachother was how much weight we both lost. It's really noticable on her because she's just over five feet tall. Sort of ironic that now that we seperated, we are leading more healthy lifestyles. I have lost about 15 pounds since we stopped dating, so that's one way in which it was for the best.
Peace and pieces,
Dr. Schmeeb'