40 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY JANUARY 22-28, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com FACE TO FACE “If you looked at my LinkedIn page you’ll say, ‘Who is this person?’” says Gillian Young Barkalow with a laugh. Her resume is indeed lengthy. The Canadian native who was also raised in France has worked as a producer for the Discovery Channel, a writer and personality for Food Network Canada, as well as holding other broadcast and journalism positions. Young Barkalow wrote for TraveLife, operated a supper club in Toronto and was the public relations contact for the international science research outlet ResearchGate. The list keeps going: Author of Overcoming Night Eating Disorder, The Guiltless Gourmet Cookbook and other publications. She is a National Gym Association Bikini Pro and in November, won two classes at the Las Vegas Classic, a bodybuilding competition. There’s more, but for our purposes, Young Barkalow came to Monterey County a decade ago because of her husband, chiropractor Derek Barkalow. She is a certified nutrition and fitness coach and opened a private studio in Carmel, where she offers a variety of courses and workshops, with a focus on empowering women. Weekly: So you had a problem settling on a career? Young Barkalow: [Laughs] I’m a curious person, but I always knew I wanted to help people. I had always been studying health and fitness. I fell in love with bodybuilding even before moving here and a lot of women were coming to me saying they noticed my transformation. All that applied to health and fitness coaching. You were on cooking shows like Food Truck Face Off. You obviously like to compete. What’s funny is I don’t consider myself a competitive person. I like to compete against myself. With bodybuilding, you’re trying to improve your physique. Why bodybuilding? It always shocks people when they look at me—“You’re a bodybuilder?” I’ll tell you why. It’s science and art, and I like both. I like to create. You get to build your own body—it’s so rewarding. You improve every time. This past show was especially rewarding because I coached myself. I used all that I had learned, which was very affirming. Most people don’t understand bodybuilding. For me, it’s a mental game. Can you push yourself enough? You’re showing off years of work. You’re using your knowledge. It’s a visual representation of your hard work. When I worked in television, you create something and you get to see it. I love it. You know what they used to say, “No pain, no gain.” I hate that. You have to put in the effort, but you don’t have to suffer. The all-or-nothing mindset hurts people the most. I’m logical. I do the basic things—things that work. We’re always being sold the quick fix. But fads are the American way. I get so frustrated. “Only eat organic.” “Don’t eat seed oils.” This culture removes things. People are focusing on health trends, but they’ve lost focus on the basics. I’m very old-school. We’re so stuck in this culture on demonizing one thing—carbs, sugars—that we lose the big picture. I love sugar, but I consume it in mindful quantities. I eat chocolate every day. I want to enjoy my life. Our bodies are smart. When it needs iron, you crave beef. Why focus on women’s fitness? Often the problem with health and fitness studies is that they are done on men. It can have the opposite effect on women. Women are not small men. We need to apply things slightly differently. Women’s bodies don’t like to feel stressed. We start to see hormonal imbalances. My method is female-focused. I want women to be empowered by their bodies, by their own beauty standards. If you feel beautiful, that’s very empowering. Explain night eating syndrome. Many people suffer from it, but it’s not understood. It’s when you eat the majority of your calories before bed. Many will wake up during the night and feel they need to eat to go back to sleep. I had this for 15 years and could not find one person who understood it. What we have to do is create a new neuropathway—change your daytime eating routine. I’ve worked with hundreds of people and they say never has a doctor told them to eat more during the day. Is there a job that you miss? This is the longest I’ve stuck with something. But I use what I’ve learned from the other careers. It’s time to use that information to help people. Body of Work Nutrition and fitness coach Gillian Young Barkalow also wins bodybuilding competitions. By Dave Faries “I don’t run. I do very little cardio,” says bodybuilder and fitness coach Gillian Young Barkalow of her training routine. “These days I walk and lift and chase my toddler.” DANIEL DREIFUSS Health& Fitness Corey is gentle, affectionate, and always ready to snuggle. 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