Frequently Asked Questions

We have tried to answer a few common questions we get asked about using Mikibo. If you have a question that has not been answered here then please contact us and we will do our best to answer it.

How do I close my Mikibo account?

How can I find out my password if I have forgotten what it is?

What is the difference between calories and kilocalories?

How can I reduce my intake of saturated fats?

How many Calories (kilojoules) should I be consuming if I want to lose weight?

Where can I find my energy and fat intake targets?

How do I change my exercise plan?

Is this all free of charge?

Where can I get a description of the exercises in the plans?

Why is Mikibo telling me my password is incorrect?

How can I be confident that the food data is accurate?

Can i add vitamin & mineral supplements?

Are the energy targets based on me maintaining my current weight?

How do I add exercises other than walking and running?

When you add missing food is there any way to specify the serving size?

Can I edit my personal meals?

Why can I not update my personal details?

Why is Mikibo showing the wrong day in the food & exercise diaries?

What is the best way to find examples of foods that contain iron?

Should I add a missing food if I do not know any of the nutritional details?

My fat intake is high, how can I identify the culprits of the fat that I'm eating?

How do I delete or edit an entry after it has been put into the food diary?

How do I invite a friend to join Mikibo?

Why are occupational activities not listed in the exercise options?

What should I do if I am pregnant or lactating?

What should I do if I can't find a food that I wish to add to my diary?

Why can't I change some of my personal details?

Can I change my password?

How are my energy and fat intake targets calculated?

How do I close my Mikibo account?

If you would like to permanently close your Mikibo account please visit our account deletion page. Please note that once you delete your account you will no longer be able to use Mikibo and there is no way to recover your account once it has been closed.

How can I find out my password if I have forgotten what it is?

You can have your password sent to your email address by following this link.

What is the difference between calories and kilocalories?

In the United States the amount of energy stored in foods is expressed in kilocalories (kcal). A kilocalorie is equal to 1000 calories. However, the word Calorie (Cal) usually with a capital C is commonly used in place of kilocalories when referring to food energy. Internationally, most countries express food energy in kilojoules (kJ). One kilocalorie is equivalent to 4.2 kilojoules.

How can I reduce my intake of saturated fats?

Saturated fats come mostly from animal products (dairy, eggs and meat). You should limits the intake of foods that are high in saturated fats. For more information click on 'Sat. fat' in the daily nutrients box on the right side of the food diary day view page. Choosing low-fat / non-fat dairy products will help to reduce the amount of saturated fat you consume.

How many Calories (kilojoules) should I be consuming if I want to lose weight?

This figure is different for everyone as it depends on your basal metabolic rate (the amount of energy that you burn at rest) and how much physical activity you get. Mikibo takes these into account when it calculates a target energy intake for you. This target is represented by the red line on the 'Energy intake' chart in the food section. You should aim for this line when using Mikibo.

Where can I find my energy and fat intake targets?

You can find the targets for all of the nutrients by clicking on the name of the nutrient in the 'Daily nutrients' box on the right side of the food diary day view page. Your energy and fat targets are shown as red lines on the chart on the food diary week view page.

How do I change my exercise plan?

If you would like to change your exercise plan (or restart it) you will have to click the 'exercise plans history' link on the left hand side of the home page. You then can cancel the active plan by checking the box and pressing 'Update'. Then follow the 'exercise plan' link at the top of the page to start a new plan.

Is this all free of charge?

Yes Mikibo is a free service for consumers.

Where can I get a description of the exercises in the plans?

In the exercise plan click on the name of the exercise and you will be taken to a description of that exercise.

Why is Mikibo telling me my password is incorrect?

The password is case sensitive and this is the most common problem people have (ie. accidentally have caps lock on).

How can I be confident that the food data is accurate?

The information in the Mikibo food databases comes from official government data sets. However, if you ever have concerns about the accuracy of a nutrient value please let us know and we will investigate. Mikibo does allow users to add missing foods. However, those foods are only available to the person who added them until the Mikibo team have checked and confirmed the accuracy of the data.

Can i add vitamin & mineral supplements?

We do not currently have supplements in our food database. However, you could add a supplement as a missing food (at the bottom of the search results page). We do intend adding vitamin supplements to the database in the future.

Are the energy targets based on me maintaining my current weight?

The targets set by Mikibo are based on achieving a healthy body weight. If you are already in the healthy weight range Mikibo will set your targets so that you maintain your current weight. If you are overweight the targets set by Mikibo will help you to lose weight.

How do I add exercises other than walking and running?

Go to the exercise section by selecting the 'Exercise' tab at the top of the screen. Select 'Other' from the 'Enter exercise' drop down list. Then select the exercise that you wish to add.

When you add missing food is there any way to specify the serving size?

At present there is no way to specify serving size when you add a missing food. We realise this is a problem and are working on a solution.

Can I edit my personal meals?

You can edit your personal meals. On personal meals page click on the meal name that you wish to edit, but take note this will change all past and future entries of the meal. If you only want to change future entries you will have to make a new meal.

Why can I not update my personal details?

When you make changes to the personal details page you must enter your password at the bottom of the page to be able to save the changes.

Why is Mikibo showing the wrong day in the food & exercise diaries?

Check that the date on your computer is set correctly. Mikibo uses your computers time and date because we have members all over the world. Mikibo will only revert to the time on the server (Australian time) if it is unable to determine the time on your computer. To manually set your time zone click 'personal details' on the left side of the home page, then scroll down and set your local time, enter your password and press 'Save'.

What is the best way to find examples of foods that contain iron?

You can click on the nutrient names in the 'Daily Nutrients' box to get information about that nutrient and what foods are high in it.

Should I add a missing food if I do not know any of the nutritional details?

Yes you should add missing foods even if you don't know the details. This allows you to put them in your diary and alerts us to the fact that they are missing. Foods that you add will only be visible to you until we are able to go through and add the full nutritional details for them, then they will become available to the whole Mikibo community.

My fat intake is high, how can I identify the culprits of the fat that I'm eating?

You can click on the name of a food to see its nutrient values, plus you can choose to view fat rather than energy in the food diary. As for your high fat intake ... in the nutrient table on the right of the page is saturated fat (sat. fat) which is the bad fat in foods so if this is not too high but your total fat (fat) is then you are probably getting 'good' unsaturated fat from foods like avocado, fish and nuts. Don't worry too much about high total fat, it's more important that your saturated fat is not too high.

How do I delete or edit an entry after it has been put into the food diary?

You can delete items from your food diary by clicking 'remove an entry' under the diary. You can edit an entry by clicking 'edit' to the right of the entry in the dairy.

How do I invite a friend to join Mikibo?

You can invite a friend from the home page (the page you are taken to once you login). On the right hand side of the page is a box that says 'Invite Friends'. If you do not have any invitations left you will have to wait until you get some more.

Why are occupational activities not listed in the exercise options?

Mikibo takes occupational activity into account in the targets it sets for you. To adjust your occupational activity level click "personal details" on the home page. We intentionally do not list occupational and incidental exercise activities in the exercise section, as we would then end up counting this activity twice when calculating your targets.

What should I do if I am pregnant or lactating?

Dieting is not recommended when pregnant unless under the supervision of your doctor. Some weight gain is necessary to lower the risk of having an underweight baby. If you are pregnant or lactating you should select the appropriate option (Pregnant or Lactating) in your personal details (click "personal details" on the top left corner of the home page). This will ensure that your energy and nutrient targets are adjusted appropriately for your condition.

What should I do if I can't find a food that I wish to add to my diary?

If you are unable to find a food we suggest you add it to our food database by clicking the "add missing food" link at the bottom of the food search results page.

Why can't I change some of my personal details?

There is no reason for your name, birth date, or gender to change. These details help us to find your account if you were to forget your password and email address. In some circumstances these details can be changed by contacting our service department.

Can I change my password?

Yes. Once you have logged in, go to 'Change your password' from the home page and enter your new password.

How are my energy and fat intake targets calculated?

The energy and fat targets are approximate guidelines only. They are based on general population based research and will vary in accuracy from person to person. We presently use age, gender, height and weight in calculating these targets.