Ideal Weight Calculator

Ideal weight formulas give you a reference range based on height, gender, and frame size. The Devine, Hamwi, and Robinson formulas were originally developed for clinical pharmacology — to estimate "lean body weight" for medication dosing — but have been widely adopted as general weight targets. They produce similar results and are most useful as rough guides for people without significant muscle development.

For practical weight loss planning, the most useful number is less "what is my ideal weight" and more "what is the lowest weight I can maintain while feeling energetic, not hungry all the time, and performing well?" This maintenance weight often ends up 5–15 lbs above the theoretical ideal for many people — and that's fine. A weight that requires constant restriction to maintain will eventually fail.

Body fat percentage provides a more meaningful goal for anyone with active fitness pursuits. Reaching 15% body fat (men) or 23% body fat (women) from a higher percentage produces the same visual and health improvements regardless of what the scale says. And as muscle is built over time, the scale can actually go up while appearance improves significantly — something ideal weight formulas don't capture.