You’re standing there. Looking down. The little red needle or the flickering digital display just gave you a number, and honestly, you're probably either annoyed or totally confused. If you’re a weight for 5 7 female searcher, you’ve likely seen the standard charts. They tell you that "normal" is somewhere between 118 and 159 pounds.
But here’s the thing.
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That range is massive. It’s a 40-pound gap. You could fit a whole medium-sized dog in that gap.
Being 5'7" (about 170 cm) is a bit of a "sweet spot" in terms of height. You’re taller than the average American woman, who sits at about 5'4", which means your frame can carry weight in a way that looks drastically different from person to person. One woman at 155 pounds looks lean and athletic; another at the exact same weight feels sluggish and soft. It’s weird. It’s frustrating. And the BMI—the Body Mass Index—doesn't always help as much as doctors think it does.
The Problem with the "Ideal" Weight for 5 7 Female
We have to talk about the BMI. Created by Adolphe Quetelet in the 1830s, it was never meant to diagnose individual health. He was a mathematician, not a doctor. He wanted to look at populations. When we apply it to a specific weight for 5 7 female, we run into the "athlete's paradox."
Muscles are dense. Fat is fluffy.
Think about a pound of lead versus a pound of feathers. They weigh the same, but the lead takes up almost no space. If you are a 5'7" woman who lifts weights, hits the Peloton, or does CrossFit, you might weigh 165 pounds. According to the CDC, you'd be "overweight." But if your waist-to-hip ratio is low and your metabolic markers are clean, that number is basically meaningless.
Dr. Nick Tiller, a researcher at Harbor-UCLA, often points out that health is multifaceted. You can’t reduce a human being to a quotient of mass and height. It’s just too simplistic. For many women this height, a "healthy" weight is actually whatever number allows them to have regular menstrual cycles, high energy levels, and strong bone density.
Frame Size and Why It Matters
Ever heard someone say they're "big-boned"? People usually say it as a joke or an excuse, but clinically, frame size is a real thing. It’s about your skeletal breadth.
If you have a small frame (a wrist circumference under 6 inches for someone 5'7"), 125 pounds might feel like your natural home. But if you have a large frame (wrist over 6.5 inches) and broad shoulders, trying to hit 125 pounds would be miserable. You’d likely be losing muscle mass and feeling like a zombie just to stay there.
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Your bones, organs, and blood actually weigh quite a bit. A woman with a larger skeleton naturally carries more lean mass. If you’re trying to force your body into a "small frame" weight range, you’re fighting your own DNA. You won't win that fight. Or if you do, you'll be exhausted.
Understanding the Body Composition Shift
Most people focus on the total mass. Wrong move.
The real metric you should care about is body composition. At 5'7", your basal metabolic rate (BMR)—the calories you burn just by existing—is generally higher than your shorter friends. This is a perk. You have more "engine" to work with.
- The 130-140 lb Range: Often seen in endurance athletes or women with naturally petite frames.
- The 145-155 lb Range: A very common "athletic" weight for 5 7 female individuals who have moderate muscle tone.
- The 160+ lb Range: This is where things get nuanced. Is it muscle? Is it visceral fat? Visceral fat is the stuff packed around your organs, and that’s the real health risk, not the number on the scale.
What Real Science Says About Longevity
Interestingly, some studies, including a major meta-analysis published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), suggested that being in the "overweight" BMI category (25 to 29.9) was actually associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality compared to being "normal" weight.
Wait. Read that again.
For a 5'7" woman, a BMI of 25 starts at roughly 160 pounds. This suggests that having a little bit of "reserve" might actually be protective as we age, especially against things like osteoporosis or wasting diseases.
Bone density is a huge deal for women. Being too thin—especially if you're hitting that 118-pound floor for your height—can put you at risk for stress fractures. Estrogen is stored in fat tissue. If your body fat drops too low because you're chasing a specific weight for 5 7 female, your estrogen drops. Then your bones get brittle. It's a nasty domino effect.
Let's Talk About Lifestyle, Not Just Numbers
It's easy to get obsessed with the scale. But how do your jeans fit? How is your sleep?
If you are 165 pounds at 5'7" but you can hike five miles without gasping for air and your blood pressure is 110/70, you are winning. If you are 120 pounds but you live on iced coffee and anxiety, your "perfect" weight is a lie.
I've talked to women who spent years trying to get back to their high school weight of 135. They finally get there at age 40, and they realize they look older. Why? Because fat in the face provides volume. Without it, wrinkles stand out. Sometimes, "the best" weight is the one where you can actually enjoy a dinner out without doing mental gymnastics over every calorie.
The Impact of Age and Hormones
Perimenopause and menopause change the game. Around age 45, estrogen starts its slow exit. Your body wants to store more fat in the midsection. It’s annoying, sure, but it’s also physiological.
For a 5'7" woman in her 50s, the "ideal" weight is almost certainly higher than it was in her 20s. Trying to maintain a 24-inch waist when your hormones are shifting is like trying to stop the tide with a plastic shovel. It’s better to focus on protein intake—getting at least 25-30 grams per meal—to protect the muscle you have.
Actionable Steps for Finding Your "Best" Weight
Forget the generic charts for a second. If you want to know if your current weight is right for your 5'7" frame, look at these specific markers instead of just the scale.
- Check your Waist-to-Height Ratio: Take a piece of string. Measure your height. Fold it in half. Does it fit around your waist? If yes, your abdominal fat levels are likely in a healthy range, regardless of what the scale says.
- Monitor Your Strength: Can you do a push-up? Can you carry your own groceries? If your weight is dropping but you're getting weaker, you're losing muscle, not just fat. That’s a bad trade.
- Get a DEXA Scan: If you’re really curious, skip the bathroom scale and get a Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry scan. It tells you exactly how much of your weight is bone, muscle, and fat. It’s the gold standard.
- Prioritize Protein and Resistance Training: At 5'7", you have long limbs. Use them. Lifting weights 3 times a week will do more for your "look" and health than any 1,200-calorie diet ever could.
- Watch the Ultra-Processed Foods: It’s not just about calories. It’s about inflammation. A 150-pound woman eating whole foods will feel and look vastly different from a 150-pound woman eating mostly "diet" frozen meals and protein bars packed with sugar alcohols.
The "perfect" weight for 5 7 female isn't a single point on a graph. It's a range that fluctuates with your cycle, your age, and your activity level. Stop trying to hit a target that was designed for a 19th-century statistician’s spreadsheet. Focus on how you move and how you feel in your own skin. That’s the only metric that actually matters in the long run.
Focus on building a body that functions well. Eat for energy, lift for longevity, and let the scale settle where it may. Usually, when you get the habits right, the weight takes care of itself without you having to micromanage every single ounce.
Next Steps for Your Health Journey
- Calculate your Waist-to-Height Ratio today to get a better picture of your metabolic health than BMI can provide.
- Increase daily protein intake to roughly 0.8 grams per pound of your goal weight to support muscle retention.
- Schedule a strength-based workout twice this week to ensure your weight includes healthy, metabolically active muscle tissue.