You’re standing on the scale at the doctor's office. The nurse slides the weight across the bar, scribbles a number, and then looks at a multicolored chart on the wall. If you’re a guy standing five-foot-seven, that chart probably says you should weigh somewhere between 118 and 159 pounds.
But honestly? That range is a mess.
Finding a healthy weight for a 5'7 male isn't as simple as hitting a bullseye on a 1970s Body Mass Index (BMI) graph. I've seen guys who weigh 175 pounds at this height who look like they’re carved out of granite, and I’ve seen guys at 145 who are struggling with high cholesterol and zero energy. Context matters. Your frame matters. Your actual lifestyle matters way more than a static number on a piece of glass in your bathroom.
Let's get real about what that number actually represents and why the standard medical advice often misses the mark for the average man.
Why the BMI is Kinda Broken for Five-Seven Guys
The Body Mass Index was created by a mathematician named Adolphe Quetelet in the 1830s. He wasn’t a doctor. He wasn't a nutritionist. He was a guy looking at social statistics. He wanted to find the "average man." Because of this, the BMI doesn't account for whether your weight is coming from a heavy squat session or a heavy pizza habit.
For a man who is 5'7" (or 67 inches), the "Normal" BMI range is 18.5 to 24.9.
If you drop to 117 pounds, you’re technically underweight. If you hit 160, you’re suddenly "overweight." This is where it gets frustrating. A 5'7" male with a broad frame and decent muscle mass can easily cruise past 160 pounds while maintaining a 32-inch waist. Is he unhealthy? According to the chart, yes. According to his bloodwork? He’s probably fine.
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The CDC and the World Health Organization still use these metrics because they’re easy for large-scale data. But for you? They’re a starting point, not a destination.
The Frame Size Factor Nobody Mentions
Your skeleton is a fixed variable. Some guys have "fine" bones—narrow shoulders, thin wrists. Others have a "large" frame—broad clavicles and thick ankles. You can actually test this yourself by measuring your wrist circumference.
For a 5'7" guy:
If your wrist is 6.5 to 7.5 inches, you’ve got a medium frame. If it’s smaller, you're a small frame. Over 7.5? Large frame.
A large-framed man at 5'7" will naturally carry more weight just in bone density and connective tissue. If that guy tries to force himself down to 135 pounds because a calculator told him to, he’s going to feel like absolute garbage. He’ll lose muscle, his hormones will probably tank, and he'll look gaunt. On the flip side, a small-framed guy at 165 pounds might be carrying a significant amount of visceral fat—the dangerous stuff around the organs—even if he doesn't look "huge."
Muscle is the Great Metric-Wrecker
Muscle is significantly denser than fat. You’ve heard that a million times, but do you actually realize how it changes the scale? A cubic inch of muscle weighs more than a cubic inch of fat.
When you start lifting weights, your weight might stay the same or even go up while your waistline shrinks. This is the "recomposition" phase. If you are a 5'7" male at 165 pounds with 12% body fat, you are objectively healthier than a 5'7" male at 150 pounds with 25% body fat. The heavier guy has better metabolic health, more glucose-burning tissue, and likely better bone density.
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What Real Experts Look at Instead of the Scale
Since the scale is a bit of a liar, what should you actually track? Dr. Robert Lustig and other metabolic health experts often point toward waist-to-height ratio.
It’s simple math.
Keep your waist circumference at less than half your height. For a 5'7" guy (67 inches), your waist should ideally be under 33.5 inches. This is a much better predictor of cardiovascular health and type 2 diabetes risk than BMI. Why? Because it specifically targets abdominal fat.
You also need to look at:
- Blood Pressure: Are you under 120/80?
- Resting Heart Rate: Is it between 60 and 100?
- Energy Levels: Do you crash at 2 PM?
- Strength: Can you carry your own groceries or do a few pushups?
The Danger of "Skinny Fat" at 5'7"
There’s this weird phenomenon where guys think they’re "healthy" just because they can fit into the same jeans they wore in high school. This is the 145-pound guy who eats nothing but processed carbs and never hits the gym.
This is often called TOFI: Thin Outside, Fat Inside.
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Even if you’re at a "perfect" healthy weight for a 5'7 male, you could have high levels of visceral fat. This fat wraps around your liver and heart. It's inflammatory. It’s dangerous. You’d actually be better off weighing 10 pounds more if those 10 pounds were functional muscle mass.
How Age Changes the Equation
What's healthy at 22 isn't necessarily the goal at 62.
As we age, we naturally lose muscle mass (sarcopenia). For older men, being on the slightly higher end of the BMI scale—say, 160 to 170 pounds—can actually be protective. It provides a "reserve" in case of illness and usually indicates better bone density, which prevents fractures.
If you're in your 20s or 30s, you should focus on staying lean and building a foundation of muscle. If you're 55+, don't obsess over being 140 pounds. Focus on being strong enough to move well.
Practical Steps to Find Your Personal "Ideal"
Stop chasing a specific number. It's a trap.
Instead, focus on body composition. If you’re five-foot-seven and you feel like you’re carrying too much weight, don't just starve yourself. That's how you end up looking soft and feeling weak.
- Measure your waist. Use a tape measure, not your pant size (brands lie about sizing). Measure at the level of your belly button. If it's over 35 inches, it's time to tighten things up regardless of what the scale says.
- Prioritize protein. Aim for about 0.7 to 1 gram of protein per pound of your target weight. This protects your muscle while you lose fat.
- Resistance training. You don't have to be a bodybuilder. Just pick up something heavy twice a week. It changes how your body stores the weight you do have.
- Watch the ultra-processed stuff. It’s not just calories; it’s how those calories affect your insulin. High insulin makes your body hold onto fat like a hoarder.
- Get a DEXA scan or use calipers. If you really want to know where you stand, get your body fat percentage checked. For a 5'7" male, staying between 12% and 20% is generally the "sweet spot" for longevity and appearance.
The "perfect" weight is where your blood markers are clean, your joints don't hurt, and you have the energy to live your life. For some 5'7" guys, that’s 145. For others, it’s 168.
Find your own "strong" instead of trying to fit into a 200-year-old mathematician's idea of average.