No, vegans do not use ANY ANIMAL PRODUCTS. This includes wool, leather, etc. You can have a vegan diet but to BE A VEGAN you don't use ANY animal products whatsoever. You seem to be confusing a vegan based diet with the actual definition of a vegan. (Kind of like a person could eat a vegetarian meal but not be a vegetarian. A vegetarian ONLY eats vegetarian meals).

Look, I'm really tired of all this back and forth about which is healthy and which is unhealthy. And no, vegans do not lose weight because their body is "having to work double time to digest plant matter". They tend to lose weight because their bodies are no longer having to deal with as many toxins (large amounts of sugar, caffeine, high amounts of fat and cholesterol, hormones and antibiotics in meat, etc) and most of the calories in a vegan diet come from nutrient dense foods rather than empty calories.

18lbs in 20 days is not necessarily unhealthy if you are so overweight, your health is at risk. Look at The Biggest Loser. They lose weight like crazy.

Well today is Day 2 for me. The scale reads 209lbs. I had a great lunch of a salad, apple, strawberries, and a glass of orange juice. Since I had a lot of fruit for lunch, I'm focusing on veggies for dinner. Might even stop by and get some vegan fried rice on my way down town tonight.