Bodies are weird. You can look at two women who both stand exactly five feet seven inches tall, and they might look like they belong to different species. One is a runner with long, lean muscles that look like taut wires; the other is a powerlifter with a frame that looks solid as a granite block. Yet, when they step on a scale, they might find themselves hovering in the same "ideal" range. If you are a normal weight 5'7 female, you’ve probably realized by now that the number on the scale is only about 20% of the story.
Height matters. At 5'7, you're officially taller than the average American woman, who usually clocks in around 5'4. This extra height gives you a bit more "real estate" for weight distribution, which is why a weight that looks heavy on someone shorter looks totally different on you. Honestly, the obsession with a single "perfect" number is kind of a relic of 1950s insurance tables. Modern health is way more nuanced than that.
Deciphering the BMI for a 5'7 Frame
We have to talk about the Body Mass Index (BMI) because, like it or not, it’s still the first tool doctors grab. For a woman who is 5'7, the "normal" weight range is typically defined as $118$ to $159$ pounds. That’s a huge gap. We are talking about a 41-pound difference. Someone at the lower end might feel fragile or lack energy, while someone at the upper end might feel their strongest and most capable.
The formula for BMI is $weight / height^2$. For our 5'7 friend, the calculation looks like this:
$$BMI = \frac{weight \text{ (lb)} \times 703}{67 \times 67}$$
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But here is the catch. BMI doesn't know if you're carrying 150 pounds of muscle or 150 pounds of fluff. If you have a larger bone structure—what clinicians call "large frame"—you might naturally sit at the higher end of that scale and be perfectly healthy. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the BMI is a screening tool, not a diagnostic one. It's a starting point, not the finish line.
Why 140 Pounds Isn't Always 140 Pounds
Body composition is the real MVP here. You’ve likely heard that muscle weighs more than fat. That's technically a lie; a pound is a pound. However, muscle is much denser. A normal weight 5'7 female with a high muscle-to-fat ratio will look significantly leaner than a woman of the same weight who doesn't exercise.
Think about visceral fat versus subcutaneous fat. Subcutaneous is the "pinchable" stuff under your skin. Visceral fat is the hidden stuff wrapped around your organs. You could be "normal weight" on the scale but have high levels of visceral fat—a condition sometimes called "skinny fat" or metabolically obese normal weight (MONW). Research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that metabolic health—your blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol—is a much better predictor of longevity than just being "thin."
Let's look at a real-world example. Imagine a former college swimmer. She’s 5'7 and weighs 155 pounds. By BMI standards, she’s nearing the "overweight" category. But her waist circumference is 28 inches, and her resting heart rate is 55. She’s metabolically elite. Contrast that with someone the same height who weighs 125 pounds but eats mostly processed sugar and has zero muscle tone. The scale likes the second woman better, but her biology might be struggling.
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The Role of Bone Density and Frame Size
Some of us are just built sturdier. There’s an old-school method to check frame size by measuring your wrist. If you’re 5'7 and your wrist is over 6.5 inches, you likely have a large frame. This means your skeleton itself weighs more. It’s not an excuse; it’s just physics. You can't force a "large-framed" skeleton into a "small-framed" weight goal without sacrificing muscle mass or hormonal health.
Hormones, Hunger, and the 5'7 Reality
Height influences your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). Because you are taller than the average woman, your body requires more fuel just to keep the lights on. A 5'7 woman weighing 145 pounds has a higher resting energy expenditure than a 5'2 woman of the same weight. You need those extra calories to maintain your bone density and organ function.
When you dip too low—say, trying to force yourself down to 115 pounds because you want to look like a runway model—your body often fights back. This is where the leptin and ghrelin tug-of-war begins. Leptin tells you you're full; ghrelin tells you you're starving. For tall women, chronic under-eating can lead to something called RED-S (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport), which can mess with your period and bone health.
What Most People Get Wrong About "Ideal" Weight
People think there is a "sweet spot" where you suddenly become healthy. It doesn't work that way. Health is a spectrum. For a 5'7 woman, the "best" weight is the one where your biomarkers are stable, you have enough energy to get through your day, and you aren't obsessing over every morsel of food.
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Actually, the "obesity paradox" is a real phenomenon discussed in medical literature, including studies in the European Heart Journal. It suggests that carrying a few extra pounds (being on the higher end of "normal" or even slightly "overweight") might actually be protective as you age, especially against conditions like osteoporosis or during recovery from a serious illness.
Beyond the Scale: The Metrics That Actually Matter
If you want to know if you're a healthy normal weight 5'7 female, put the scale in the closet for a month. Look at these instead:
- Waist-to-Hip Ratio: This is a huge indicator of cardiovascular health. Take a measuring tape. Measure your waist at the narrowest point and your hips at the widest. Divide the waist by the hips. For women, a ratio of 0.85 or lower is generally considered healthy.
- Functional Strength: Can you carry your own groceries? Can you do a few pushups? Muscle mass is the primary driver of metabolism. If you're losing weight but getting weaker, you're losing the wrong kind of weight.
- Sleep Quality: If your weight is "perfect" but you can't sleep, your cortisol is likely spiked. High cortisol leads to belly fat accumulation, regardless of what the scale says.
- Energy Crashes: Do you hit a wall at 3 PM? That's often a sign of blood sugar instability, which is a better indicator of health than your pants size.
The Impact of Age
Your "normal" at 22 is rarely your "normal" at 45. As women hit perimenopause and menopause, estrogen levels drop. This usually causes a shift in where weight is stored, moving it from the hips to the abdomen. A 5'7 woman might find her weight drifting from 140 to 150 during this transition. While it can be frustrating, it’s often a natural biological shift. Fighting it with extreme restriction usually backfires by crashing the metabolism further.
Actionable Steps for Finding Your Healthy Baseline
Stop chasing a number you saw in a magazine. If you’re 5'7, you have a powerful frame—treat it like one.
- Prioritize Protein: Aim for about 0.8 to 1 gram of protein per pound of your target weight. This protects the muscle you have and keeps you satiated.
- Lift Heavy Things: Resistance training is non-negotiable for tall women. It builds the bone density you'll need later in life and ensures your "normal weight" is comprised of functional tissue.
- Track Trends, Not Days: If you must weigh yourself, do it once a week or take a monthly average. Daily fluctuations of 2-3 pounds are normal and usually just water, salt, or hormonal shifts.
- Check Your Labs: Get a full panel. Look at your A1C, your Vitamin D levels, and your lipid profile. If these are in the green, and you're 5'7 and 158 pounds, you're doing great.
The goal isn't to be the smallest version of yourself. The goal is to be the most resilient version. For a woman who is 5'7, that often means embracing a weight that feels substantial, strong, and sustainable. Focus on how you move and how you feel, and the "normal" weight will usually take care of itself.