You’ve seen the charts. Maybe it was at the doctor's office or some random fitness blog you found at 2 AM. You look for your height—5'7—and see a range that feels either incredibly narrow or frustratingly vague. Honestly, the whole concept of a healthy weight for 5'7 female isn't as simple as landing on one specific digit. It’s a spectrum. It’s about bone density, muscle mass, and where you actually carry your fat.
Most people just want a target. They want to know if 140 pounds is "good" or if 160 pounds is "bad." But bodies don't work in binaries. A 5'7 woman who lifts heavy weights and has a broad frame might look and feel incredible at 165 pounds, while someone with a very fine bone structure and lower activity levels might feel their best at 135. We need to stop looking at the scale as the final judge and start looking at it as one tiny data point in a much larger, more complex story.
What the "Standard" Charts Actually Say
The most common tool used by health professionals is the Body Mass Index (BMI). According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a healthy BMI range falls between 18.5 and 24.9. For a woman who stands 5 feet 7 inches tall, that translates to a weight range of roughly 118 to 159 pounds.
That's a 41-pound gap.
It’s huge. It's the difference between a size 4 and a size 12. This is why women get so confused. If you're 160, you're technically "overweight" by one pound, even if you’re a marathon runner with barely any body fat. On the flip side, someone could be 120 pounds—firmly in the "healthy" range—but have very little muscle and high visceral fat (the dangerous kind around your organs). Doctors sometimes call this "thin-fat" or metabolically obese normal weight.
We have to acknowledge the limitations here. BMI was created in the 19th century by Adolphe Quetelet, a Belgian mathematician, not a doctor. He wasn't even looking at health; he was looking at social statistics. It doesn't account for whether your weight comes from a steak-heavy muscle-building diet or a sedentary lifestyle. It doesn’t care about your waist-to-hip ratio, which many experts, like those at the Mayo Clinic, argue is a much better predictor of cardiovascular health than total weight.
Why Your Frame Size Changes Everything
Have you ever noticed two women who are the same height but look completely different at the same weight? That’s frame size. It’s real.
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You can check yours by wrapping your thumb and middle finger around your wrist. If they overlap, you likely have a small frame. If they just touch, you're medium. If they don't meet? You've got a large frame. A large-framed healthy weight for 5'7 female is naturally going to sit at the higher end of that 118–159 range. If a woman with a large frame tries to force herself down to 125 pounds, she might end up looking gaunt or feeling constantly exhausted because her body isn't built to sustain that low of a mass.
Then there's the muscle factor. Muscle is denser than fat. A cubic inch of muscle weighs more than a cubic inch of fat. This is why "toning up" often leads to the scale staying the same—or even going up—while your jeans get looser. It’s the classic body recomposition trap that drives people crazy.
The Role of Age and Hormones
We can't talk about weight without talking about the clock. Your "perfect" weight at 22 is rarely your "perfect" weight at 52.
As women age, especially as they move through perimenopause and menopause, estrogen levels drop. This shift often causes fat to redistribute from the hips and thighs to the abdomen. Research published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology suggests that a slightly higher BMI in older age might actually be protective against certain issues like osteoporosis. Being on the very low end of the weight spectrum for a 5'7 woman as she enters her 60s can increase the risk of fractures.
Hormones like cortisol also play a massive role. If you’re chronically stressed, your body hangs onto fat, particularly in the midsection, regardless of how many salads you eat. It’s a survival mechanism. Your body thinks there’s a famine or a predator, so it stores energy.
Beyond the Scale: Health Markers That Actually Matter
If we aren't just looking at the number 145 or 150, what should we look at?
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- Waist Circumference: For women, a waist measurement over 35 inches is generally linked to a higher risk of Type 2 diabetes and heart disease, regardless of what the total weight is.
- Energy Levels: Do you wake up tired? Do you crash at 3 PM? If your weight is "perfect" but you have zero stamina, something is off.
- Blood Markers: Your A1C (blood sugar), LDL/HDL cholesterol, and blood pressure tell a much more accurate story of your internal health than a bathroom scale ever could.
- Functional Strength: Can you carry your groceries? Can you walk up three flights of stairs without feeling like your lungs are giving out?
Common Misconceptions About 5'7 Bodies
People often think 5'7 is "tall" for a woman, and in many parts of the world, it is. This height provides a bit more "room" for weight fluctuations. A five-pound gain on someone who is 5'1 is immediately visible. On a 5'7 woman, it’s often barely noticeable.
But this can be a double-edged sword. It’s easy to let 5 pounds turn into 15 because the mirror doesn't sound the alarm as quickly.
Another myth is that there is an "ideal" clothing size for this height. You'll hear people say a 5'7 woman "should" be a size 6. That's nonsense. Because of hip width and ribcage size, some women literally cannot fit into a size 6 without losing dangerous amounts of muscle and bone density.
Finding Your Personal "Happy Weight"
Your "happy weight" is the weight where your body naturally settles when you’re eating nutritious food, moving your body in a way you enjoy, and not obsessing over every calorie.
It’s the weight you can maintain without feeling miserable.
If you have to starve yourself to stay at 130 pounds, 130 is not your healthy weight. If you feel sluggish and your joints ache at 180, then 180 likely isn't your healthy weight either.
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Kinda frustrating, right? There’s no magic formula. But there is a feeling. It’s that point where your clothes fit well, your labs look good at the doctor, and you have the mental bandwidth to think about something other than your next meal.
Actionable Steps for Navigating Your Weight
Instead of fixating on a single number, try these shifts in perspective:
Prioritize protein and fiber.
Focusing on what to add rather than what to subtract changes the psychology of eating. Aim for 25–30 grams of protein per meal to maintain the muscle mass that keeps your metabolism humming. Fiber keeps you full and helps with estrogen detoxification.
Measure your waist, not just your weight.
Keep a soft measuring tape in your drawer. If your weight goes up but your waist stays the same or goes down, you're likely gaining muscle. That’s a win.
Get a DXA scan if you’re curious.
If you really want the data, skip the cheap scales that claim to measure body fat. Go get a DXA scan. It’s the gold standard for measuring bone density and body composition. It will tell you exactly how many pounds of muscle, fat, and bone you’re carrying.
Focus on "Power Phrases" over "Goal Weights."
Instead of saying "I want to be 145," try "I want to be able to deadlift my own body weight" or "I want to hike the local trail without stopping." These are functional goals that naturally lead to a healthier body composition.
Audit your sleep.
You can’t out-diet poor sleep. Sleep deprivation wreaks havoc on ghrelin and leptin—the hormones that tell you when you're hungry and when you're full. If you're 5'7 and struggling to stay in a healthy range, check your bedtime before you check your cupboards.
The reality is that a healthy weight for 5'7 female is a moving target. It shifts with the seasons of your life, your fitness goals, and your genetics. Respect the frame you were given. Stop fighting against your biology and start working with it by focusing on how you feel, how you move, and how you fuel yourself.