Free Tool
Ideal Body Weight Calculator: Your Healthy Range from 4 Formulas
There is no single ideal weight, and anyone who gives you one number is guessing. This calculator runs four validated formulas plus the healthy BMI range and shows you the overlap: a realistic zone you can actually live in. No email needed.
By Luke Thomas, NASM-CPT. Updated September 2026.
Calculate your ideal body weight range
Four validated formulas, one honest range. Enter your height, and add your wrist measurement if you want the range adjusted for your frame size.
Your ideal weight range
What each formula says:
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Next step: see a realistic date for reaching your range
Where these ideal weight formulas come from
The Hamwi, Devine, Robinson, and Miller formulas were all built the same way: start from a base weight at five feet and add a fixed amount per inch above it. They were developed between the 1960s and 1980s, mostly for hospitals to estimate medication doses and nutrition needs, and they were never meant to be a goal weight for a healthy woman.
That is why they disagree with each other by 10 to 20 pounds and why the calculator shows all four rather than pretending one is right.
The more useful move is to lay the formulas next to the healthy BMI range for your height and look at where they overlap. That overlap is a span of roughly 15 to 25 pounds, and it is a far better target than any single number, because where you sit inside it depends on your frame, your muscle, and your age.
A woman who lifts weights belongs near the top. A woman over 65 does better a little higher still. A small-framed woman who has never trained belongs near the bottom. The range is the honest answer; the point inside it is yours to choose.
Three truths about your ideal weight
Scale weight is not the goal
Two women can weigh the same and look and feel completely different depending on how much of it is muscle. The waist measurement and how your clothes fit tell you more than the scale ever will.
Your ideal shifts with age
After 60, a little extra weight is protective: it cushions falls, buffers illness, and usually means more muscle and bone. Chasing your 30-year-old weight at 65 can do more harm than good.
The first 10 percent matters most
If you are above your range, losing 5 to 10 percent of your current weight delivers most of the health benefit: better blood sugar, lower blood pressure, easier joints. Bank that first, then decide about the rest.
Ideal weight questions, answered
What is the ideal weight for a 5 foot 4 inch woman?
The four classic formulas put it between about 120 and 133 pounds, and the healthy BMI range is 108 to 145. A realistic target zone for most 5 foot 4 women is roughly 118 to 140 pounds, higher with a larger frame or more muscle. Enter your details above for your own overlap.
Which ideal weight formula is the most accurate?
None of them is accurate for an individual; they describe averages. Robinson and Devine are the ones most often used clinically. The most reliable approach is to take the overlap of all four with the healthy BMI range, which is exactly what this calculator does.
How do I know my frame size?
Wrap a tape around your wrist just below the bone and divide your height in inches by that number. For women, above 11 is a small frame, 10.1 to 11 is medium, and under 10.1 is large. Frame size moves your ideal range up or down by about 10 percent.
Does my ideal weight change after menopause?
The formulas do not change, but your body composition does. Falling estrogen makes it easier to lose muscle and store fat around the middle, so two women at the same weight can look very different at 35 and 55. After menopause, aim for the middle of your range and put your effort into strength training and protein rather than the scale.
Is it okay to weigh more than my ideal weight if I am muscular?
Yes. Muscle is dense, and women who strength train routinely sit at the top of or above their formula range while being leaner than the number suggests. In that case use waist-to-height ratio and body fat percentage as your guide; both are free tools on this site.
How fast should I try to reach my ideal weight?
Half a pound to a pound a week is the pace that keeps muscle and keeps the weight off. Faster than that, and a growing share of what you lose is muscle, which lowers your metabolism and makes regain more likely. My weight loss timeline calculator turns your range into a realistic date.
Your Next Step
You have the range. Now get there without the gimmicks.
The free 14-Day No-Gimmicks Weight-Loss Reset builds one simple habit a day, the kind that moves you toward your range and keeps you there long after the two weeks are up. Same coach, same straight talk.
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Practical health and fitness for women who want to feel strong at any age. Coached by Luke — NASM-certified (CPT, CES, PES) with 20+ years in the field.