You're standing in the doctor's office. The nurse slides that heavy silver weight across the balance beam, or maybe you step on a digital scale that beeps a little too loudly. If you’re a woman standing 5'7", you've probably wondered where that number is "supposed" to land. Most of us have been chased by a specific number our whole lives. We want a target. But the ideal weight for 5'7 female in lbs isn't just one static digit on a screen, and honestly, the history of how we decided these numbers is kinda messy.
Standard charts usually suggest a range between 122 and 159 pounds. That’s a massive 37-pound gap. It's the difference between fitting into a size 4 or a size 12 depending on how your frame is built.
Muscle is dense. Bone density matters. Even the weight of your internal organs varies. If you're an athlete with a 5'7" frame, you might weigh 165 pounds and have 14% body fat, looking lean and "fit" by every modern standard, yet a basic BMI calculator would flag you as overweight. It's frustrating.
The BMI Problem and Why It Labels You
We have to talk about the Body Mass Index (BMI). It’s the tool most doctors use because it’s fast. Developed in the 1830s by a Belgian mathematician named Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quetelet, it was never actually meant to measure individual health. Quetelet was trying to define the "average man" for social statistics. He wasn't a physician. He wasn't even looking at women.
For a woman who is 5'7", the BMI categories look like this:
- Underweight: Under 118 lbs
- Normal Weight: 118 to 159 lbs
- Overweight: 160 to 191 lbs
- Obese: 192 lbs and above
Basically, the system ignores whether that weight is coming from a heavy lifting session at the gym or a sedentary lifestyle. Dr. Nick Trefethen, a mathematician at Oxford University, has famously argued that the standard BMI formula is flawed because it doesn't account for how much extra weight taller people naturally carry. He suggests a new formula that would actually bump the "ideal" range for a 5'7" woman slightly higher, acknowledging that height and volume don't scale linearly.
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Frame Size: The Factor Nobody Mentions
Ever heard someone say they’re "big-boned"? People usually roll their eyes, but it’s a real physiological thing. Your skeletal structure dictates a lot of your baseline weight.
You can check your frame size by wrapping your thumb and middle finger around your wrist. If they overlap, you have a small frame. If they just touch, you're medium. If there's a gap, you're large-framed. For a 5'7" woman, a small frame might feel and look "ideal" at 125 lbs, while a large-framed woman would look gaunt at that same weight. A large-framed woman might feel her absolute best at 155 lbs.
The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company started these "Height and Weight" tables back in the 1940s. They weren't looking at "wellness." They were looking at mortality rates—basically, what weight makes you the least likely to die and cost them money. Their data showed that for a 5'7" woman with a large frame, the "ideal" range actually went up to about 164 lbs.
Why Muscle Mass Changes Everything
Consider two women. Both are 5'7". Both weigh 150 lbs.
One woman runs marathons and lifts weights three times a week. The other spends most of her day at a desk and doesn't exercise. The runner will likely have a lower body fat percentage and a higher basal metabolic rate. She might wear a smaller dress size than the sedentary woman, even though the scale shows the exact same ideal weight for 5'7 female in lbs.
Muscle takes up about 18% less space than fat. This is why "toning up" often results in the scale staying the same while your jeans get loose. It's a physiological mind game.
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What Real Medical Experts Look At Instead
If you talk to a modern nutritionist or a sports medicine doctor, they’re moving away from the scale. They look at the Waist-to-Height Ratio (WtHR). Research, including studies published in the International Journal of Obesity, suggests that WtHR is a much better predictor of cardiovascular health than BMI.
For a 5'7" woman (67 inches), your waist circumference should ideally be less than 33.5 inches.
If your waist is under that mark, your internal organs are likely free from the dangerous "visceral fat" that causes inflammation and heart disease, regardless of whether you weigh 130 or 160 lbs.
We also have to look at age. As women enter perimenopause and menopause, bone density changes and muscle mass naturally tends to decline (sarcopenia). Maintaining a slightly higher weight in your 50s and 60s can actually be protective. It provides a "buffer" against bone fractures. The Journal of the American Geriatrics Society has noted that for older adults, being in the "overweight" BMI category is often associated with a lower risk of early death compared to being in the "normal" or "underweight" categories.
The Psychological Impact of the Number
Social media is a liar. You see influencers who are 5'7" claiming they weigh 115 lbs. In reality, that is significantly underweight for that height and can lead to issues like hair loss, the loss of a menstrual cycle (amenorrhea), and decreased bone density.
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Chasing an unrealistic ideal weight for 5'7 female in lbs creates a cycle of cortisol spikes. High cortisol makes you hold onto belly fat. It's a self-sabotaging loop.
I've talked to women who felt "fat" at 145 lbs because they were comparing themselves to a version of themselves from high school. But a 35-year-old woman has a different body composition than an 18-year-old. That's just biology.
Actionable Steps to Find Your Personal Target
Stop looking at the 1950s charts. They don't know your life. They don't know your 7:00 AM HIIT class or your love for sourdough.
- Get a DEXA scan if you’re curious. It’s the gold standard. It measures exactly how much of your weight is bone, fat, and muscle. It takes the guesswork out of the scale.
- Measure your waist. Use a simple soft tape measure. Keep it at 33 inches or less for the best long-term health outcomes at 5'7".
- Check your energy levels. If you are at 125 lbs but feel exhausted, dizzy, and irritable, that is not your "ideal" weight. Your body is telling you it's starving.
- Blood markers over scale numbers. A woman weighing 165 lbs with perfect cholesterol, stable blood sugar (HbA1c), and good blood pressure is significantly healthier than a 120-lb woman with "skinny fat" syndrome and high triglycerides.
- Focus on functional strength. Can you carry your groceries? Can you climb three flights of stairs without gasping? Can you do a push-up? These are better metrics of a "fit" 5'7" body than a number that was invented by a mathematician 200 years ago.
The "ideal" is a range, not a point. For most 5'7" women, finding a sustainable weight where you have the energy to live your life—usually somewhere between 135 and 155 lbs—is far more important than hitting a specific "perfect" number. Trust how your body feels more than what the gravity-sensing box on your bathroom floor says.
Next Steps for Your Health Journey
- Schedule a metabolic panel: Ask your doctor to check your fasting insulin and lipid profile rather than just commenting on your BMI.
- Track your protein intake: Aim for 0.8g to 1g of protein per pound of your goal weight to maintain the muscle mass that keeps your metabolism high.
- Throw away the "goal weight" jeans: Buy clothes that fit the body you have today. Physical comfort reduces stress, which in turn helps regulate your weight naturally.
- Focus on sleep: Sleep deprivation is a primary driver of weight gain in women due to its effect on ghrelin and leptin (your hunger hormones). Aim for 7-9 hours to let your body find its natural set point.