When Your Family Doesn’t Support You

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Your spouse still brings home the donuts. Your kids ask for fast food every Friday night. You sit down to a family dinner and the food you're trying to avoid is sitting right there in the middle of the table.

And you're doing this alone.

In today's episode of Living Life Unbinged, we're getting real about something that so many women face but rarely talk about: what happens when you're the only one in your family on this journey. When your conviction is strong, but everyone around you is on a completely different page.

Here's what I learned the hard way: I cannot wait for everyone around me to get on board before I take care of myself. That day may never come. And your health, your responsibility to steward the body God gave you, can't be held hostage by someone else's choices. That's not selfish. That's obedience.

But it also doesn't mean isolation or turning every family meal into a battle. It means getting creative, setting boundaries, and protecting your space without shaming anyone else.

✨ In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why feeling alone in your journey is so common (and so valid)
• The difference between waiting for support and being responsible for yourself
• How to set boundaries without isolation
• Why guilt and resentment often lead straight to food
• What it looks like to feed your family what they love while honoring your own choices
• Simple modifications that work for everyone at the table
• How your own transformation might become an invitation for others later
• One practical boundary you can set this week to protect your journey

Anchored in Romans 14:12, "Each of us will give an account of ourselves to God", not an account of what your spouse ate or what was available at dinner. Your own account. That responsibility is yours to steward, and you are worthy and deserving of protecting that space.

Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do for your family is take care of yourself. 🩷

Make it a great day!

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:20

I really wanted to do this episode because I know that so many of you are doing this work in environments that aren't exactly set up for your success. Maybe your spouse still brings home the donuts. Maybe your kids are still asking for fast food every Friday night. You're trying to figure out how to feed everybody and still honor your own journey. Maybe you sit down to a family dinner and the food you're trying to avoid is sitting right there in the middle of the table. And it is hard. I want to say that out loud. It's genuinely hard sometimes. This is a good time to remind you that being sugar or flour-free is hard, but being food obsessed and overweight is harder. But we can't discount the fact that sometimes things are genuinely hard. It's okay to admit that. I remember feeling so alone in this. When I made the decision to take care of my health, to break free from sugar, and to do something different with my life, my family happened to be on the same page. They were willing to support me and it was beautiful. But most of the time, and most women or men I deal with are kind of on their own. And so it is a challenge. And sometimes people aren't trying to be unsupportive on purpose. They're just not in the same place and they don't have the same conviction that we have. And that gap can feel pretty lonely. Here's the thing. Sometimes I felt resentment about it, whether it was family or friends that weren't just jumping on my side of the street. I felt like they should. I started to feel guilty and somewhat resentful. And here's the thing: the guilt made me want to eat. So I was kind of stuck in this loop of loneliness, isolation, doing this myself, frustration, and guilt and food, but none of it was bringing me closer to where I wanted to be. So here's the truth that I had to land on all those years ago. And it's a little bit hard to hear, but it's so freeing on the other side. I cannot wait for everyone around me to get on board before I take care of myself. That day may never come. And my health, my obedience to stewarding the body God gave me can't be held hostage by someone else's choices. That's not me being selfish. That's me being responsible for what God entrusted to me. Hear this again. You might feel a little lone. You might feel a little bit isolated in this journey. That's why I want you to find me on Facebook and Instagram and all the places. Make sure you go to lifeunbing.com, sign up for your free weekly tips, truth, and recipes because you need to feel supported. But if we're waiting for others to get on board, it might not happen. So we have to focus in on ourselves. Romans 14, 12 says, So then each of us will give an account of ourselves to God, not an account of what our spouse ate, not an account of what was available at our family dinners, our own account. So I have to steward my own body, you have to steward your own body. I can't outsource that to somebody else. I mean, maybe it sounds kind of fun if that could be an option, but I can't. That doesn't mean you isolate yourself or make every family meal a battle. It means you get creative and clear on what you need. You can still feed your family what they love and still have things that work for you. You need some simple modifications. I will also link in the show notes one of my favorite YouTube videos I ever made. And it was about modifications that we can use so we can cook, eat, and have the same meal with our family with some simple modifications. You can enjoy the table, the conversation, the connection, and make your own choices about what's on your plate. Eyes on your own plate. Those two things can coexist. And sometimes, not always, but sometimes when our family sees real change in us, when they see us feeling better and showing up differently, they get curious. And curiosity is a good thing, right? Your journey might become an invitation for them eventually. But that can't be your motivation for starting. It simply can't. Start because God put this on your heart. Start for you. Your action step this week, identify one small practical boundary you can put in place to protect your journey without making it a whole family negotiation. Maybe you asked your spouse not to offer you certain foods at night. That's kind of a simple one, but it can be a hard conversation, especially if you sat and ate those foods together for the last 10 years. Maybe you designate one drawer or shelf as your space. Maybe you plan your own lunch so you're not dependent on what everyone else is having. Pick one thing, protect your space because you are worthy and you deserve it.