Question 1

What is yourahara?

Accepted Answer

Think of yourahara as a personal chef who knows your fridge. You scan your ingredients, tell us your goals and cuisine, and we build a full day of meals — breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks — around what you already have, with a grocery list that only buys what's missing.

Question 2

Do I need to sign up to try it?

Accepted Answer

No — dive straight in. Hit "Try it free" or "Get started", complete the 4-step setup, and your first full day's plan is ready. No card, no commitment. Create a free account when you're ready to save your plan and keep generating days.

Question 3

What happens to my trial plan after I sign up?

Accepted Answer

It's waiting for you. Your trial plan is automatically saved to your new account — confirm days, browse your grocery list, and generate the next day exactly where you left off. Nothing is lost.

Question 4

How long does it take to generate a plan?

Accepted Answer

About 30 seconds — and it's worth the wait. Every plan is built fresh from your exact inputs, not pulled from a template, so what you get is truly yours every single time.

Question 5

Is yourahara free?

Accepted Answer

Yes, completely free during early access. Every registered user gets 7 meal plan days per monthly billing cycle at no cost — no credit card, no hidden fees. Refer friends and keep stacking bonus days on top.

Question 6

How does the meal plan work?

Accepted Answer

Set up once, eat well every day. yourahara generates Day 1 — a complete day matched to your kitchen, goals, and cuisine — and you confirm it when you're ready to follow it. Day 2 unlocks, built with variety so you never repeat the same meals twice.

Question 7

What does "Confirm Day" mean?

Accepted Answer

It's your green light. Confirming a day tells yourahara you're following that plan, logs it against your monthly credits, and unlocks the next day for generation. One tap — your day is locked in, your next day is ready.

Question 8

Can I view Day 2 before confirming Day 1?

Accepted Answer

Days unlock in sequence — confirm Day 1, get Day 2. This keeps your nutrition coherent and ensures variety is tracked properly across the week. It's a feature, not a limitation.

Question 9

What is a "reopened" day?

Accepted Answer

When you update your goals, diet, or pantry, any confirmed day still in the future is "reopened" — flagged so it can be refreshed to match. Use Flexi Restart to pick a resume date, then keep each day as-is or regenerate it with new meals. Reopening and regenerating never cost a credit; only the original confirmation counted.

Question 10

How many cheat meals do I get per plan?

Accepted Answer

Three — and they're guilt-free. Choose "A little naughty" for comfort-food upgrades or "Full send" for no-rules maximum indulgence. The tally updates as you go so you always know what's left.

Question 11

What's the difference between Swap, Custom, and Cheat?

Accepted Answer

Three ways to make any meal yours. Swap gives you 3 AI alternatives with similar macros. Custom lets you reinterpret the dish — Air Fryer, Instant Pot, Salad, or your own spin. Cheat replaces it with something indulgent entirely. All three stay nutritionally aware.

Question 12

Can I adjust serving sizes?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely — slide from 1 to 5 servings on any meal and every ingredient quantity and nutrition figure updates instantly. Cook for yourself or the whole family with one tap.

Question 13

How do I generate a recipe for a meal?

Accepted Answer

Tap the Recipe button on any meal card. You get prep time, cook time, numbered steps, and a full ingredient checklist — generated on demand, specific to your exact meal. Never generic, always actionable.

Question 14

What is Flexi Restart?

Accepted Answer

Life happens — Flexi Restart lets you re-date your meal plan forward from any day you choose, without losing progress. It steps in two ways: when you fall behind and your next day is stuck in the past, or when you change your preferences and your upcoming days reopen. Either way you pick a fresh start date and your plan slides neatly forward from there.

Question 15

I fell behind on my plan — how do I get back on track?

Accepted Answer

Open the day that's waiting for you and tap "Restart plan →". Pick today (or any upcoming date) and that day — plus everything after it — re-dates forward, so you're never staring at meals scheduled for last week. Confirming that fresh day uses one credit, just like any new day.

Question 16

I changed my preferences — what happens to my upcoming days?

Accepted Answer

Any confirmed day still in the future is "reopened" so it can reflect your new goals, diet, or pantry. Tap "Restart plan →", choose when to resume, then for each reopened day pick "Keep existing" or "Regenerate". Regenerate rebuilds the meals around your updates. It's all free — those days are already paid for — and days you've already eaten stay exactly as they were.

Question 17

Does restarting cost me any credits?

Accepted Answer

Re-confirming days you'd already confirmed — the ones that reopen after a preferences change — is always free, whether you keep or regenerate them. A credit is only used when you confirm a brand-new day you hadn't paid for yet (like the day you were behind on). Restarting itself never charges you.

Question 18

How far ahead can I restart my plan?

Accepted Answer

As far as your remaining days reach inside your billing cycle — plus any referral bonus days. Your base monthly days can't roll into next month, so if your chosen start date would push days past your reset date, you'll either see how many fall into the next cycle (covered by your referral credits) or be asked to wait for your cycle to refresh. Referral days are the only thing that can carry a plan across the boundary.

Question 19

What do the sliders (Gut health, Protein focus, Recipe style) do?

Accepted Answer

They tune every meal to your body and lifestyle. Gut health adds fermented foods and plant diversity as you dial it up. Protein focus shifts meals toward leucine-rich, muscle-supporting ingredients. Recipe style moves from familiar comfort food to bold fusion — your call, every day.

Question 20

Can I change my dietary preference after signup?

Accepted Answer

Any time. Head to Settings → Preferences (or My Ahara) and update whatever you like — goals, cuisines, dietary needs. New days reflect the change immediately, and any upcoming confirmed days are reopened so you can refresh them too via Flexi Restart — keep or regenerate each at no cost. Days you've already eaten stay untouched.

Question 21

Can I have multiple cuisine preferences?

Accepted Answer

Select as many as you love. yourahara blends your chosen cuisines with what it reads from your pantry to create meals that feel cohesive, not random. Italian and Japanese? We make it work.

Question 22

How are my calorie targets calculated?

Accepted Answer

We use the Mifflin-St Jeor BMR formula — the same method used by registered dietitians — which factors in your weight, height, age, and gender to calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate. That's then multiplied by your activity level (PAL) and tuned to your goal: reduced for fat loss, elevated for muscle building, balanced for maintenance. The result is a personalised daily calorie range (±7% around your TDEE) with macro splits tailored to your specific goal. Two people with the same weight and goal but different ages or genders will get meaningfully different targets.

Question 23

Can I change how many meals per day I get?

Accepted Answer

Yes — registered users set their own meal count in Settings → Preferences: 2 or 3 main meals, 0 to 2 snacks. Trial users start with the full 3-meal, 2-snack setup. Your plan, your schedule.

Question 24

What dietary options do you support?

Accepted Answer

Vegetarian, Eggetarian, Vegan, Pescetarian, Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Halal, and Kosher — plus allergy filters for 9 major allergens and a free-text field for everything else. Every ingredient in every meal is checked against your restrictions, every single time.

Question 25

How does the pantry scan work?

Accepted Answer

Take 2–5 photos of your fridge, pantry, or countertop and our AI does the rest. It identifies your ingredients, lets you confirm or edit the list, and infers your "culinary world" from what it sees — a pantry with miso and sesame oil signals a Japanese kitchen, which shapes your whole plan.

Question 26

Can I type my ingredients instead of taking photos?

Accepted Answer

Of course. Tap "Type instead" on the pantry step and enter items one per line or comma-separated. Perfect if you'd rather keep your kitchen private — you still get the full AI-powered plan.

Question 27

How is the grocery list generated?

Accepted Answer

Automatically, from every confirmed day in your plan. Quantities are aggregated across all meals that share an ingredient, grouped by category, and anything you already have from your pantry scan is flagged so you never buy what you already own.

Question 28

What does "in pantry" mean on the grocery list?

Accepted Answer

"In pantry" means you already have it — we spotted it in your scan. It's there for reference so you can plan your shop with complete confidence, not guessing what's already on your shelf.

Question 29

How do I add a grocery item to my pantry?

Accepted Answer

Swipe left on any grocery item to move it straight to your pantry. yourahara will then build future plans around it — you bought it once, you'll use it again.

Question 30

Can I delete items from the grocery list?

Accepted Answer

Swipe right to dismiss any item you don't need. Tap any item to see exactly which meals use it, the total quantity needed, and its nutritional contribution. Full visibility, full control.

Question 31

How many days do I get per month?

Accepted Answer

Every free account gets 7 day credits per billing cycle — that's a full week of personalised meal planning, on us. Each confirmed day uses one credit. Regenerating a day you've already confirmed is always free.

Question 32

When does my day allowance reset?

Accepted Answer

On your personal billing date — the same day of the month you signed up. Register on the 10th? Your 7 days refresh on the 10th, every month, like clockwork.

Question 33

Does confirming a day use up one of my credits?

Accepted Answer

Just confirming — everything else is free. Viewing your plan, swapping meals, generating recipes, adjusting servings, and regenerating reopened days all cost zero credits. Only the confirmation tap counts.

Question 34

What happens if I regenerate a day — does it cost a credit?

Accepted Answer

Never. When a confirmed day is reopened, regenerate it with a completely fresh set of meals and your credit balance stays exactly the same. Experiment freely.

Question 35

Can unused credits roll over to next month?

Accepted Answer

Referral bonus days roll over indefinitely — they accumulate and never disappear. Your base 7-day monthly allowance resets fresh each cycle. Use your referral days first and let the base allowance follow.

Question 36

How does the referral programme work?

Accepted Answer

Share your unique referral link. When a friend signs up through it, you automatically get bonus days added to your account — no forms, no waiting, no minimum requirements. Just share and earn.

Question 37

How many bonus days do I get per referral?

Accepted Answer

You earn 3 bonus days for every friend who signs up with your link. Refer 10 friends and you've added a month's worth of extra days to your account. There's no cap — refer as many people as you like.

Question 38

When do bonus days appear in my account?

Accepted Answer

The moment your friend completes signup, your bonus days are credited automatically. Open the app or refresh your plan page — they're there, usually within seconds.

Question 39

Do bonus days expire at the end of my billing cycle?

Accepted Answer

Never. Unused referral bonus days carry forward into every future cycle — they stack up and stay until you use them. Only your base 7-day monthly allowance resets.

Question 40

What is My Plate?

Accepted Answer

My Plate is your daily food journal — a place to log everything you eat, get an AI-powered nutrition score, and track how well your real eating aligns with your goals. It's separate from your meal plan so you can follow the plan, freestyle it, or mix both. Every log builds a picture of your habits that makes future plans smarter.

Question 41

How do I log a meal?

Accepted Answer

Tap "Log a meal" and describe what you ate in plain English — "two eggs, toast with butter, black coffee" is all you need. Our AI parses it into structured meals with estimated nutrients. You can also scan a photo of your food and the camera identifies it for you. Logs are timestamped automatically so spacing between meals is tracked too.

Question 42

Can I use my camera to log food?

Accepted Answer

Yes — tap the camera icon on the log screen, point it at your food, and our vision AI identifies the dish and estimates the portion. It handles plated meals, packaged food, and even half-eaten plates. The result is editable before saving so you can correct anything the scan misses.

Question 43

How is my meal scored?

Accepted Answer

Each meal gets a score from 0 to 10 based on nutritional quality, goal alignment, portion precision, and meal timing. The day also gets an overall score — a weighted blend of nutritional balance (40%) and how well it tracks your goal (60%). Scores are calculated by our AI which knows your personal calorie and macro targets, not generic population averages.

Question 44

What do the meal scores mean?

Accepted Answer

Scores reflect how well that meal serves your specific goal. 8–10 means the meal is working hard for you — great macros, good timing, aligned with your target. 6–7 is solid with room to improve. Below 6 means the meal has meaningful gaps — you'll get specific, actionable suggestions on exactly what to add or swap. Vague logs (no portion info) are capped at 6 to keep scores honest.

Question 45

What is a Good streak?

Accepted Answer

A Good streak (🔥) counts consecutive days where every single meal scores 7 or above. It's your measure of consistent, high-quality eating — not just whether you logged, but whether you actually ate well. Miss a meal below 7 and the streak resets. It's designed to be earned.

Question 46

What is a Day streak?

Accepted Answer

A Day streak (📓) counts consecutive days where you logged at least one meal — regardless of score. It's your consistency habit tracker. Show up every day, even imperfect days, and your Day streak grows. Good streak tracks quality; Day streak tracks the habit of awareness.

Question 47

What does the macro chart show?

Accepted Answer

The macro chart shows your day's actual intake — calories, protein, carbs, fat, and fibre — compared against your personal daily targets. Those targets come from your Mifflin-St Jeor TDEE calculation, not a one-size-fits-all table, so the bars reflect what your body actually needs. Green means on track; the gaps tell you exactly where to focus tomorrow.

Question 48

How do I log my water intake?

Accepted Answer

On your score page, tap the Hydration widget — each tumbler icon represents 250ml. Tap as many as you've drunk and your total updates instantly. Hit the 2,000ml daily target and your score gets a +0.5 boost as a reward for staying hydrated. The boost is shown live on screen and resets if you remove glasses — it reflects your actual hydration, not an arbitrary click count.

Question 49

Can I log a fasting day?

Accepted Answer

Yes — tap "Fasting today?" on your score page and choose 16h, 18h, or 20h+. Logging a fast of 16 hours or more protects your Good streak and Day streak — those days are treated as neutral so a disciplined fast never counts against you. Shorter gaps (under 16h) are just your normal overnight window and don't earn streak protection. If your meals were already scored before you logged the fast, you'll see a prompt to rescore with fasting context so your eating window is properly accounted for.

Question 50

Does fasting affect my meal scores?

Accepted Answer

Yes, when fasting is logged. Our AI scores your meals within your actual eating window — it won't penalise you for eating larger portions in a compressed window or for a lower total calorie count than your full-day target. If you log fasting after your meals are already scored, tap "Rescore with fasting context" to get a fair reassessment.

Question 51

What is My Friend's Plate?

Accepted Answer

My Friend's Plate is the social side of yourahara. Connect with friends, see each other's achievements — streaks, badges and weekly plant variety — cheer each other on, and (only if you choose) share the days you've logged. It's opt-in by design: your food journal stays completely private unless you decide to surface a day.

Question 52

What is my Ahara Avatar and handle?

Accepted Answer

Your Ahara Avatar is your identity in Friends' Plate: a food emoji (your 'face' — no photos, your food is your face) plus a unique, AI-generated handle like @CaptainMangoLassi. You set it up in My Ahara › Profile, and the handle is how friends find and recognise you.

Question 53

How do I change my handle?

Accepted Answer

Go to My Ahara › Profile and tap 'Reroll names' (or 'Generate my handle' if you haven't picked one yet) to get fresh AI-generated options, choose one, and Save. You can change your handle at most once every 30 days — during the cooldown the Generate/Reroll button is locked and shows the next date you'll be able to change it (you can still update your icon and visibility freely in the meantime). When you do rename, your old handle is reserved to you for 90 days so nobody can grab it and impersonate you, and your friendships and gangs are unaffected — they're tied to your account, not your handle.

Question 54

How do I connect with a friend?

Accepted Answer

Three ways, all mutual (both sides consent, LinkedIn-style): search their Ahara Avatar handle and send a request, scan their QR code in person, or sign up through their referral link (which connects you automatically). Once they accept, you're connected.

Question 55

What does 'Discoverable' mean — how do I stay private?

Accepted Answer

In My Ahara › Profile you control a Discoverable toggle. On, people can find you by handle or QR and send a request. Turn it off to go Hidden: you won't appear in search or scans, and nobody new can send you a connection request — your existing friends stay connected.

Question 56

What can my friends actually see?

Accepted Answer

Accepted friends see your achievements (streaks, badges, weekly plant count) and any days you've chosen to share. They never see a day you haven't shared — and even on shared days they see meal NAMES only, never your ingredients, recipes, nutrition, or notes. Strangers see nothing beyond your avatar and handle.

Question 57

What is 'Share this plate'?

Accepted Answer

Sharing is opt-in, one day at a time. A logged day is private until you tap 'Share this plate' (on the score page or your recent-entry card). Once shared, friends and any gangs you're in can see that day's meal names and score — recipes stay locked. Tap again to unshare.

Question 58

What are cheers?

Accepted Answer

A cheer is a one-tap reaction that appears as your avatar food emoji (your 🥭, 🍍, etc.). You can cheer a friend's shared plate, badge, or streak — and gang-mates can cheer each other too. It's the simple, encouraging 'nice one' of Friends' Plate.

Question 59

What are all the badges and how do I earn them?

Accepted Answer

Badges are earned automatically from your own logging — no setup, no opting in. The full set: 🌱 First Plate — log your very first plate. ✨ Clean Day — a day where every meal scored 7 or higher. 📓 Logging streaks (days logged in a row): Getting Going (3), Week Warrior (7), Committed (30). 🔥 Clean streaks (clean days — every meal ≥7 — in a row): Clean Streak 7, Clean Streak 30, Clean Streak 90. 🥗 Plant variety (unique plants in one week): Rainbow (20+), Plant Powerhouse (30+). For tiered badges you always hold the highest level you've reached. Tap any badge — yours or a friend's — to open a card explaining what it means and when it was earned. Your badges are visible to accepted friends and gang-mates.

Question 60

How do notifications work?

Accepted Answer

The 🔔 next to your handle on My Plate shows unread connection requests, cheers you've received, and gang invites — updated in real time. Tap it to open the list; tapping a request or gang invite jumps you to the right place to act on it.

Question 61

What is a Gang?

Accepted Answer

A Gang is a group — like a WhatsApp group for your plates. The creator is the leader and invites people; once members accept, everyone in the gang sees each other's shared plates in one combined feed and can cheer each other on. It uses the same opt-in share, so only days you've shared ever appear.

Question 62

How do I create a gang and add people?

Accepted Answer

Open the 'My Gangs' tab on My Plate, name your gang, and you're the leader. Inside the gang, invite people by their Ahara Avatar handle — they get a notification and must accept before they join (and before any of their plates appear to the gang).

Question 63

What can gang members see?

Accepted Answer

Active gang members see each other's shared plates — meal names and scores only, recipes locked — plus each other's badges, in one feed. They never see days you haven't shared. Sharing is global: when you share a day, it reaches your friends and all your gangs at once.

Question 64

Can I leave a gang, or remove someone?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Any member can leave a gang at any time (your plates immediately drop from its feed). The leader can remove members or delete the whole gang. Leaving or being removed never affects your other friendships or gangs.

Frequently asked questions

Getting Started

Your Meal Plan

Flexi Restart

Personalisation

Pantry & Grocery List

Account & Day Credits

Referrals & Bonus Days

My Plate

Friends' Plate & Gangs

Privacy & Data