You've probably stood in front of the bathroom mirror, looked at the scale, and wondered if 160 pounds is "good" or if you're lagging behind. It’s a common obsession. For a guy standing 5'7", the search for that perfect, magic number can feel like chasing a ghost. Honestly, the answer isn't a single digit. It's a range. And that range is influenced by things like bone density, muscle mass, and even where you store your fat.
Most medical charts will give you a quick answer based on Body Mass Index (BMI). For a 5'7" male, the "normal" BMI range—which is between 18.5 and 24.9—translates to roughly 121 to 158 pounds.
But let’s be real.
A 121-pound man at 5'7" is going to look very different from a 158-pound man. One might look lean and wiry, while the other could be built like a tank. And if you’re a guy who hits the gym four days a week? That 158-pound limit is going to feel ridiculously low. This is where the standard advice starts to fall apart. We need to look at what's actually happening under the skin.
The Problem with the Standard Ideal Weight for 5'7 Male
The BMI was invented in the 1830s by a Belgian mathematician named Adolphe Quetelet. He wasn't a doctor. He was a statistician trying to find the "average man." He didn't care about body fat percentage or muscle.
Because muscle is much denser than fat, it takes up less space. You've probably heard that a pound of lead and a pound of feathers weigh the same, but they look totally different. Muscle is your lead. Fat is your feathers. If you have a high muscle-to-fat ratio, you might weigh 170 pounds at 5'7" and have a visible six-pack. According to the BMI, you’d be "overweight." According to a mirror and a blood pressure cuff? You’re an elite athlete.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) still uses these charts because they’re easy. They’re a screening tool, not a diagnosis. If you’re a 5'7" male and you weigh 180 pounds, a doctor might flag you for a conversation about heart health. But that’s the beginning of the story, not the end.
Frame Size Matters Way More Than You Think
Have you ever noticed some guys just have "big bones"? It’s not a myth.
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The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company popularized "Ideal Weight" tables back in the 1940s, and they actually accounted for frame size. They categorized men into small, medium, and large frames. To find yours, you can actually wrap your thumb and middle finger around your wrist. If they overlap, you're likely a small frame. If they just touch, you're medium. If there’s a gap? You've got a large frame.
For a 5'7" male with a small frame, the "ideal" might lean closer to 135–145 pounds. A large-framed guy might feel his best at 155–165 pounds. If that large-framed guy tries to force himself down to 130 pounds just to hit a "healthy" BMI, he’s probably going to feel exhausted, weak, and constantly hungry. It’s just not how his body is built to function.
What Science Actually Says About Longevity
Weight isn't just about how you look in a t-shirt. It’s about how long you’re going to be around.
Interestingly, some studies, like those published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), suggest that being in the "overweight" BMI category (25 to 29.9) might actually be associated with a lower risk of mortality in older age compared to being "normal" weight. This is often called the "obesity paradox."
Now, don't go eating a box of donuts just yet.
What this usually means is that having a little bit of a "buffer" can be protective if you get sick. But for a 5'7" male, the sweet spot for metabolic health—keeping your blood sugar stable and your cholesterol in check—usually sits in that 140 to 160-pound pocket.
Waist-to-Height Ratio: The New Gold Standard
If you want a better metric than the ideal weight for 5'7 male, look at your waist.
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Researchers at City University London found that your waist circumference should be less than half your height. This is the Waist-to-Height Ratio (WtHR). For a 5'7" guy, you are 67 inches tall. Half of that is 33.5 inches.
If your waist is under 33.5 inches, you’re likely in a good spot regardless of what the scale says. Why? Because visceral fat—the stuff that sits deep in your belly around your organs—is the real killer. It’s metabolically active. It pumps out inflammatory signals. You could weigh 145 pounds (perfectly "ideal") but if you have a 36-inch waist, you're "skinny fat," and your health risks might be higher than a 170-pound guy with a 32-inch waist.
Real World Examples: The 155-Pound Variance
Let’s look at two guys, both 5'7", both 155 pounds.
Subject A is an office worker. He sits 8 hours a day. He does some light walking. His body fat is around 25%. He has a bit of a gut, and his arms are thin. He’s within his "ideal weight" range, but he lacks functional strength and might have high triglycerides.
Subject B is a rock climber. He weighs exactly the same—155 pounds. But his body fat is 12%. He has dense muscle in his back, forearms, and legs. His heart rate is 55 beats per minute.
The scale sees them as identical. Biology sees them as worlds apart.
This is why focusing solely on a number can be so soul-crushing. You might start lifting weights, lose two inches off your waist, feel amazing, and find that the scale hasn't moved at all. Or worse, it went up. That’s progress, even if the BMI chart says otherwise.
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How to Find YOUR Best Weight
So, how do you actually find your personal ideal? You have to experiment.
Start by tracking your performance and how you feel. Are you sleeping well? Do you have energy in the afternoon? Can you climb a flight of stairs without huffing?
- Get a Body Composition Scan: If you’re serious, skip the scale and get a DEXA scan or a BodPod reading. This tells you exactly how much is fat, bone, and muscle. For men, a healthy body fat percentage is typically between 14% and 20%.
- Monitor Your Bloodwork: A "heavy" guy with perfect fasted glucose, low inflammation (CRP), and good HDL/LDL ratios is healthier than a "thin" guy with pre-diabetes.
- The "Pants Test": Honestly, how your clothes fit is often a better indicator of health than a digital readout. If your waist size is creeping up but your weight is stable, you're losing muscle and gaining fat.
Moving Toward Action
Stop aiming for a specific number. Aim for a specific feeling and a specific set of health markers.
If you’re currently 180 pounds at 5'7", don't panic about hitting 145. Focus on the first 5% to 10% of weight loss. Research shows that losing just 5% of your body weight significantly improves insulin sensitivity and heart health. For a 180-pound guy, that's only 9 pounds. That’s doable.
Next Steps for Your Health Journey:
- Measure your waist today. Use a soft tape measure just above your hip bones. If it's over 34 inches, focus on nutrition and movement rather than just "losing weight."
- Prioritize protein. To maintain the muscle that keeps your metabolism high, aim for roughly 0.7 to 1 gram of protein per pound of your target weight.
- Resistance training is non-negotiable. Lifting weights or doing bodyweight exercises ensures that when you do lose weight, it’s fat you’re losing, not the muscle that protects your joints and bones.
- Check your blood pressure. This is the "silent" indicator that tells you if your current weight is putting too much strain on your system.
Finding the ideal weight for a 5'7" male is about finding the balance where your body performs at its peak without you having to starve yourself or live in the gym. It's a lifestyle, not a math equation.