Calorie counting

Plenty of stories on here of people who did that.

Check out the "success stories" forum.

Yes, you absolutely can, but it can be harder to stay within your goal if you are eating too many high calorie low nutritional value foods in one day. Completely aside from a general lack of important vitamins and stuff, high calorie/low nutrition is often simply less satisfying. Two Hostess Ding Dongs are about 320 calories, or you can have a full meal of lean protein, some rice, and a ton of veggies for the same caloric price. High calorie goodies are a fabulous treat, and you should definitely find places to fit them into your regular caloric budget, but it certainly doesn't hurt place a higher priority on the more filling, lower calorie foods, if they keep you going a bit longer.