You've probably stood in front of the bathroom mirror, looked at your height, and wondered if that number on the scale is "right." It’s a weirdly specific obsession we have. If you’re a woman standing 5'7", you’re actually taller than about 90% of the female population in the United States. You've got frame. You've got height. But finding the ideal weight for 5'7 female isn't as simple as looking at a dusty chart in a doctor's office that hasn't been updated since the 1970s.
The truth is kinda messy.
Standard charts will tell you one thing. Your personal trainer says another. Your doctor might just point at a BMI graph and shrug. But if you're 5'7", your "perfect" weight could swing by 30 pounds depending on whether you're a marathon runner or someone who hits the heavy weights at the gym four times a week. We need to stop looking at weight as a single, static destination and start looking at it as a functional range.
The BMI trap and why it fails 5'7" women
Let's talk about the Body Mass Index. It's the most common way people try to find the ideal weight for 5'7 female. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the "normal" BMI range for someone who is 5'7" (or 170 cm) is roughly between 118 and 159 pounds.
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That is a massive gap.
A forty-pound range doesn't really help you much when you're trying to figure out if your current habits are working. BMI was never meant to be a diagnostic tool for individuals anyway. It was created by Adolphe Quetelet, a Belgian mathematician—not a doctor—in the 1830s to study populations. He wanted to find the "average man." He wasn't looking at a 5'7" woman in 2026 who has a high bone density and a solid squat max.
The biggest flaw here? Muscle.
Muscle is significantly denser than fat. If you’ve been working out and your weight has stayed at 165 pounds but your jeans are looser, you’re actually healthier than you were at 155 pounds with less muscle. For a 5'7" woman, carrying an extra five pounds of lean muscle can shift your "ideal" weight higher on the scale while actually making you look leaner and improving your metabolic health.
What the experts actually say about frame size
Not all 5'7" skeletons are built the same way. You’ve heard people say they are "big-boned," and while that sounds like an excuse, it’s actually a physiological reality. Bone structure—specifically your frame size—dictates how much weight your body can healthily carry.
There's an old-school method called the Hamwi formula. It’s a bit rigid, but it gives us a starting point. It suggests that for a woman who is 5 feet tall, the base weight is 100 pounds. Then, you add 5 pounds for every inch over that.
For you, that math looks like this: $100 + (7 \times 5) = 135$ pounds.
But wait.
The formula then adjusts for frame size. If you have a small frame, you subtract 10%. If you have a large frame, you add 10%. This means a 5'7" woman with a large frame might have a "calculated" ideal around 148 pounds, while her small-framed friend might be at 121 pounds. Neither is wrong. They’re just built differently.
To find your frame size, wrap your thumb and middle finger around your wrist. If they overlap, you’ve got a small frame. If they just touch, you’re medium. If there’s a gap, you’re large-framed. It’s simple, but it’s often more accurate for your "feel good" weight than a generic BMI calculator.
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Body composition is the real metric
Forget the scale for a second. Let's talk about what's actually inside your body.
A 5'7" woman weighing 150 pounds with 22% body fat is in a completely different health category than a woman of the same height and weight with 35% body fat. The first woman likely has high insulin sensitivity, strong bones, and a fast metabolism. The second might be dealing with "skinny fat" syndrome—clinically known as normal-weight obesity.
This is where the ideal weight for 5'7 female conversation gets interesting. Real experts like Dr. Gabrielle Lyon, author of Forever Strong, argue that we shouldn't be focused on weight loss at all, but rather on "muscle centric medicine."
When you have more muscle, your body processes glucose more efficiently. It protects your joints. For a woman at 5'7", having a goal of 145–155 pounds with a focus on strength training is often much healthier long-term than starving yourself to hit 125 pounds just because a chart said so.
The age factor you can't ignore
Your ideal weight at 22 isn't going to be your ideal weight at 55. It’s just not.
As women age, especially as they move through perimenopause and menopause, body composition shifts. Research from the Women’s Health Initiative has shown that carrying a slightly higher BMI in older age can actually be protective against osteoporosis and certain types of fractures.
If you are 5'7" and in your 50s, being 155 or 160 pounds might provide the hormonal cushioning and bone density you need. Obsessing over the 130-pound goal you had in college is actually counterproductive to your longevity.
Health markers that matter more than the scale
If you want to know if you're at your "ideal" weight, stop looking down at your feet and start looking at these markers instead:
- Waist-to-Hip Ratio: Take a tape measure. Measure the smallest part of your waist and the widest part of your hips. Divide the waist by the hip. For women, a ratio of 0.80 or lower is generally considered healthy. It tells you if you're carrying dangerous visceral fat around your organs.
- Energy Levels: Do you crash at 3 PM? Are you fueling your body enough to get through a workout? Often, women at 5'7" try to maintain a weight that is too low, which wrecks their thyroid and leaves them exhausted.
- Blood Markers: Your HbA1c (blood sugar), lipids (cholesterol), and blood pressure are the real "grades" of your health.
- Sleep Quality: If you’re under-eating to hit a specific weight goal, your cortisol will spike, and you won’t sleep. That’s a sign your "ideal weight" is actually too low for your biology.
Real-world examples of 5'7" women
Think about celebrities or athletes who are 5'7".
Serena Williams is roughly 5'9", but look at athletes in the 5'7" range like many CrossFit competitors. They often weigh between 150 and 165 pounds. They are the picture of health, power, and metabolic efficiency. On the flip side, a runway model who is 5'7" might weigh 115 pounds. While that's "fashion ideal," it’s often not "health ideal." It usually requires extreme caloric restriction that isn't sustainable for most people.
Most women who feel "fit and toned" at 5'7" find their sweet spot is between 140 and 155 pounds. This allows for enough muscle mass to look "tight" and enough body fat to keep hormones happy.
Why the "last 10 pounds" are a lie
We all have that number in our heads. "If I could just get to 135, I’d be happy."
But why 135? Usually, it's an arbitrary number we picked up from a magazine or a friend. For a 5'7" woman, that last 10 pounds is often the difference between having a social life and being a slave to the gym.
If your body naturally wants to sit at 148 pounds, and you have to suffer to get to 138, your body is telling you that 148 is your biological set point. Fighting your set point increases stress hormones, which eventually leads to weight regain anyway.
Actionable steps to find your personal "Best Weight"
Instead of chasing a number, try this approach for the next 90 days:
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1. Prioritize protein intake
Aim for about 1 gram of protein per pound of your ideal weight. If you want to be a solid 145 pounds, eat 145 grams of protein. This supports muscle mass and keeps you full, making the "scale weight" less relevant because your body composition will improve.
2. Focus on "Non-Scale Victories"
Track how your clothes fit. Track your strength in the gym. If you can do 10 pushups today and you could only do 2 last month, you are getting healthier, regardless of what the scale says.
3. Get a DEXA scan
If you’re truly curious about where you stand, skip the home scale. A DEXA scan or an InBody test will tell you exactly how much of your weight is bone, muscle, and fat. It’s the gold standard for understanding if your weight is "ideal" for your specific body.
4. Check your waist circumference
For a 5'7" woman, a waist measurement under 31.5 inches is generally a great sign of metabolic health. If you're at 155 pounds but your waist is 29 inches, you’re in the clear.
5. Adjust for your lifestyle
Are you an endurance hiker? A weightlifter? A busy mom who spends all day on her feet? Your weight needs to support your activity. If you're 5'7" and constantly dizzy or hungry, you're likely below your body's ideal weight, no matter what the BMI chart says.
Weight is just data. It’s a single data point in a sea of much more important information. Being 5'7" gives you a lot of leeway to build a strong, capable body. Don't let a 19th-century math equation tell you what you're worth or how healthy you are. Focus on how you move, how you feel, and how you fuel. The "ideal" weight will usually find itself once you get the habits right.
Stop fighting your height. Use it. Build some muscle, eat real food, and let the scale be the least interesting thing about you.