Being a woman who stands 5'11" is honestly a whole different experience when it comes to the scale. Most of the standard advice you see in magazines or on generic fitness apps is geared toward women who are significantly shorter. When you're "tall-tall," the way your body carries mass, bone density, and muscle is just different.
Basically, you can't compare yourself to a 5'4" friend. That's a recipe for frustration.
Finding the ideal weight for 5 11 female isn't about hitting one magic number that stays the same for everyone. It’s a range. A wide one. If you look at the standard medical charts, they’ll give you a window, but life isn't a chart. Your frame size—whether you have narrow shoulders or a broad, athletic build—matters more than the number on the scale.
The BMI Problem for Tall Women
Let’s talk about the Body Mass Index. It’s flawed. We know this. But for tall women, it can be particularly weird. The standard BMI formula, which was developed by Adolphe Quetelet in the 1830s, doesn't always scale linearly with height.
Mathematically, as you get taller, your volume increases faster than your height. This means the BMI often overestimates "fatness" in tall people. For a woman who is 5'11", the "normal" BMI range is typically cited between 132 and 179 pounds.
That’s a 47-pound gap.
You could weigh 135 pounds and look quite thin, or 175 pounds and look incredibly fit and toned. I’ve seen women at this height who weigh 185 pounds and have a visible six-pack because they have significant muscle mass and a heavy bone structure. If they followed the standard BMI chart, they’d be told they are "overweight." It’s kinda ridiculous when you think about it.
Frame Size: The Missing Link
If you want to get specific about the ideal weight for 5 11 female, you have to look at your frame. There’s a simple trick for this. Take your dominant hand and wrap your thumb and middle finger around your opposite wrist.
Do they overlap? You’ve likely got a small frame.
Do they just touch? Medium.
Is there a gap? Large frame.
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For a 5'11" woman with a large frame, being 140 pounds might actually be unhealthy. You’d likely be under-muscled and potentially lacking in bone density. On the flip side, someone with a very petite, narrow frame might feel their best at 145.
The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company used to produce these famous height and weight tables back in the day. While they are a bit dated, they were some of the first to actually acknowledge frame size. For a woman of your height, they suggested a range of 144 to 154 for a small frame, 151 to 163 for a medium frame, and 159 to 179 for a large frame.
What the Experts Say
Dr. Nick Fuller from the University of Sydney often talks about "interval weight loss" and the idea that our bodies have a set point. For tall women, that set point is often higher than society tells them it should be.
Muscle is dense. It’s heavy.
When you have longer limbs, you have more room for muscle attachments. A 5'11" woman who lifts weights is going to naturally weigh more than a sedentary woman of the same height, even if they wear the same dress size. This is why "weight" is a terrible metric for health. Body composition—the ratio of fat to muscle—is what actually determines how you feel and how your clothes fit.
Athletic Performance and Bone Density
There's a real health advantage to being tall, but it comes with responsibilities. Tall women are at a slightly higher risk for certain types of joint issues simply because of the leverage on their limbs. Keeping a healthy weight helps, but being too thin is actually dangerous for your bones.
Osteoporosis is a real threat.
If you drop below a certain body fat percentage, your estrogen levels can dip, which directly impacts bone mineral density. For someone who is 5'11", you need that structural integrity to support your height. Aiming for the very bottom of the "ideal" range can sometimes do more harm than good.
Real World Examples of 5 11 Women
Think about professional athletes or celebrities.
Taylor Swift is famously around 5'11". While she has a very slender build, she has spoken openly about the pressure to be a certain size and how she’s found a healthier balance as she’s gotten older. Then you have someone like Gisele Bündchen, also around 5'11". Her "ideal" weight for her career was likely at the lower end of the spectrum, but even she has shifted toward a more muscular, functional physique in recent years.
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Then look at WNBA players. A point guard who is 5'11" might weigh 170 pounds. She’s not "overweight." She’s a powerhouse.
The context of your life matters. Are you running marathons? Are you chasing toddlers? Do you sit at a desk ten hours a day? Your activity level dictates where in that 132-179 range you should fall.
Let's Ditch the Goal Weight
Instead of picking a number like "150" because it sounds good, focus on functional markers.
- How is your energy? If you're constantly exhausted, you might be under-eating for your height.
- The "Waist-to-Height" Ratio. This is actually more accurate than BMI. Your waist circumference should be less than half your height. For a 71-inch tall woman (5'11"), your waist should ideally be under 35.5 inches.
- Blood markers. What do your actual labs say? A 180-pound woman with perfect cholesterol and blood sugar is "healthier" than a 130-pound woman with high cortisol and poor metabolic health.
Why Your Weight Fluctuates
Tall bodies hold a lot of water.
When you have more surface area and more muscle mass, a 3-pound fluctuation in a single day is totally normal. It’s just hydration. On a shorter woman, that might represent a significant percentage of her body weight. On you? It’s a rounding error.
Stop weighing yourself every morning. It’ll drive you crazy.
Actionable Steps for Finding Your Balance
Forget the 1200-calorie diets. That is starvation level for a woman who is 5'11". Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)—the calories you burn just by existing—is naturally higher because you have more "engine" to keep running.
- Prioritize Protein. Long limbs need muscle support. Aim for roughly 0.8 to 1 gram of protein per pound of lean body mass.
- Strength Train. This isn't about getting "bulky." It’s about protecting your joints and keeping your metabolism humming.
- Measure by Feel. How do your favorite jeans feel? How is your sleep? These are better indicators of your "ideal" state than a digital readout on a glass scale.
- Eat for Your Height. You likely need 2,000+ calories just to maintain a healthy weight if you're even moderately active. Don't be afraid of fuel.
The ideal weight for 5 11 female is ultimately the weight where you feel the strongest and most capable. For some, that’s 155. For others, it’s 175. Listen to your body, look at the data that actually matters like waist-to-height ratio, and ignore the charts that were made for people a head shorter than you.