Blogger Interview With Victoria Sully

I’m Victoria, a busy mum on two who is on a mission to be healthier and wealthier. I am a full-time blogger who runs four blogs across different niches. My ‘main blog’ as I like to call it as it’s my oldest blog and biggest blog is www.lyliarose.com where I blog about lifestyle and money. I make money online and from home and like to share my experiences with others.

I also blog at www.healthyvix.com all about healthy living as I am passionate about following a plant-based diet, staying fit and leading a more natural toxic-free and sustainable lifestyle. I co-blog with my husband at www.wood-create.com all about home, garden, woodwork and DIY topics.

Finally, I set up www.travelvixta.com at the end of last year to share our travel adventures, so they have their own space rather than being on my main blog going forward. We have purchased a campervan last summer and hope to go exploring in it much more in summer 2019 and beyond.

I follow a plant-based diet which I’m really passionate about. I also completed a no added sugar year in 2017 and I still no longer buy anything with artificial sweeteners, refined sugar or questionable added sugars at home. I have relaxed slightly when going out for food and I’ll choose whichever vegan main option I like, but not dessert. I cook home-cooked meals and we only have one takeaway per week which is simply a portion of chip shop chips.

I also choose organic whenever possible, but always for our fruits and vegetables. I’m very into fruits, veggies, superfoods, and natural living. I avoid eating many processed foods and we don’t own a microwave, so microwave dinners are definitely not on my agenda! I keep fit by running, stair climbing and using weights at the gym around 5-6 times per week.

Yes, I follow a plant-based wholefood diet. I choose only whole grains at home, organic fruit and veg and lots of beans and pulses. I don’t eat any junk food or convenience foods at home. The only time my diet slips is if we eat out and I may treat myself to a vegan burger and chips or vegan pizza! At home, it’s all home-cooked food jam-packed with veg and wholefoods.

Not really advice, but there are lots of quotes that I find inspiring and live by. I love ‘be who you are and say what you feel, those who matter don’t mind, those who mind don’t matter’. I also live by ‘where there’s a will there’s a way, if not there’s just an excuse’.

I’m naturally a very motivated person with great willpower. If I want to achieve something then I just have to make that decision and I’ll stick to it. With regards to leading a healthy lifestyle, my motivation is to not die of a horrible and preventable disease that I have seen so many others die of. If I can prevent it and lead a long, healthy lifestyle then I’ll try my hardest! I have plenty of plans to travel once my children are grown up and I don’t want to be restricted by a future illness that I can be preventing by my choices today.

My biggest challenge was getting my husband on board, but he tried Veganuary and he’s been converted! Now all four of us, me, hubby and kids, are plant-based which makes everything a lot easier. Changing the children to plant-based was a big decision and mostly I guess we were worried about judgement from others. I research and read about plant-based living almost daily and this knowledge makes me confident to speak up to others if they criticize.

For blogging it has to be the networking and support groups on Facebook. These groups are such a great resource for bloggers at any part of the journey. If I have a question then there are lots of bloggers willing to help. I’ve found lots of paid collaborations through these groups and everyone helps to share content, increase DA and more. It’s such a supportive community.

Having my children inspired me to be healthier and to also work for myself. Before kids I was more of a party animal without many set goals. I knew I wanted to settle down, but I still didn’t have much focus or ambition. Deciding to have my first child and suddenly landing this huge responsibility gave me the desire to work for myself and get as healthy as possible. I no longer just had myself to care about.

Business-wise and blog-wise, for the next year I would like to build up my three newer blogs so they are a great money-making back up for me. Money-wise I have an emergency fund I’m saving and I will reach my target by the end of this year by budgeting and sticking to saving goals. Health-wise I’d like to continue to go to the gym 5-6 times per week and feel as fit as I can. Family-wise I’d like us to have more beach days and more country days in the summer.

I have lots of good parts. I love when I’m writing a blog post and I’m in the flow and feeling really excited about what I’m writing. Dinner times with my kids and husband are always good – enjoying great food together and catching up on each others days. I also love the feeling when I’m running at the gym listening to a great tune and feeling energized!

Between running four blogs and having two young children, there’s not much time leftover! My favourite other things to do though are long country walks, beach walks, exploring new places and trying vegan menus at restaurants and cafes.