Gordon Tokishi, wearing a wide-brim camouflage hat and a Camelbak hydration pack, huffed and puffed his way up the Diamond Head trail at a steady pace. But his progress came to sudden halt where the dirt trail turned into the hike’s final stretch — a flight of stairs and one last push to the landmark’s famous view.
Tokishi, a 57-year-old band director at St. Andrew’s Priory School for Girls, was on the trail with a group of summer school students whose young legs had quickly left him behind. At the steps he worked hard to catch his breath.
"I don’t know if I can do this," he said. "It’s been a long time."
There was a time in Tokishi’s life when he would not have paused like this, but eight years ago the pressures of a graduate degree program at Southern Oregon University erased his active lifestyle. Tokishi had been an avid sailboarder and scuba diver who took middle school students out to get scuba certified.
"I’d teach a summer course where we’d go kayaking, windsurfing and diving, which helped me lose any weight that I’d put on that year," he said.
Then he got busy. He stopped doing activities for his own benefit and had to give up teaching the outdoor summer course. He went from 170 pounds to 245 pounds.
Tokishi regrets not taking better care of his health, he said. It’s the curse of a busy life — of success.
He is sedentary all day at St. Andrew’s, and when he is not teaching, he is performing at a variety of venues around town. He plays the saxophone, flute and clarinet with the PBS Big Band, the musicians union Monday night jazz band and Stanton Haugen’s Thursday night jazz band. He also works as a pit musician at Diamond Head Theatre.
He accompanied the St. Andrew’s marching band to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade in 2011 and participated in the Rose Bowl parade in 2013.
"That’s been the extent of my exercise," he said.
Once he had slowed down, it was hard to start moving again.
"It was so easy to go to the drive-thru at McDonald’s and grab a couple burgers," he said. "I didn’t feel good … not energized. I’d get home and just want to flop down and watch TV."
TOKISHI received a wake-up call following a physical at the end of May when he weighed in at 245 pounds and required blood pressure and cholesterol medication. Now he yanks himself off the sofa to squeeze in some exercise and eats slowly to gauge fullness levels so he doesn’t overeat.
"My goal is to get off the meds," he said. "This is the heaviest I’ve ever been, so it’s now or never."
He hopes to lose weight this summer. He’s been walking at least 2 miles each day and tries to schedule his appointments, like a haircut, when he has time to park far away and walk to burn a few more calories. Walking to Jamba Juice and grabbing a small smoothie as a treat is another enticement for a more active lifestyle.
His next step is to attempt to bike from his Makiki home to work.
"I was a pretty good tennis player about 50 pounds ago," Tokishi said, noting that he still has all of his "toys" — the windsurfing gear and buckets of tennis balls.
"I stare lovingly at them, waiting to use them again," he said.
Just a few weeks ago he hiked the Aiea Loop Trail, and his goal was "just to make it out," he said. In the past this type of hike would have been a piece of cake, but his legs felt like logs, all stiff and sore, for a couple of days afterward.
Since tweaking his fitness routine, he’s given up heavy dinners and fast-food burgers and replaced them with salads. "I’m a pretty good cook and I love my cooking," he said. "Eating half of the salad is enough now, though I save the other half for later."
But it’s easy to overindulge if you’re a musician, he said.
"I get invited to lots of cocktail parties," he said. "People don’t call me to walk or play tennis."
And he admits to being a big "Groupon groupie." He buys discount restaurant coupons and tries new places with friends but tends to overeat, so he has refrained from purchasing any more deals.
"I need to stop coming up with excuses," he said. "I’m good at that. My friends brought me back an expensive bottle of sake from Japan. I’m waiting until I drop 20 pounds and will break it open and celebrate."
This summer Tokishi signed up as an unpaid chaperone for theSt. Andrew’s summer course, which includes weekly hiking excursions. He joined the group to explore different trails for the next five weeks to give himself that extra push.
But at the bottom of the Diamond Head stairs, his goal seemed a few steps too far. Until he started. Slowly, deliberately, Tokishi hauled himself to the summit and the waiting class of cheering students.
"It was cool that my progress was being monitored by the girls," Tokishi said. "Stopping was not an option. Their cheering and encouragement got me to the top."
“Good Fit” spotlights inspiring fitness stories of change, self-discovery and challenge, and other fitness-related topics. Tell us what motivates you and how you stay fit and healthy. Email features@staradvertiser.com.
