My experience is that when I let my carb count drift up (above about 30g net carbs/day) I start gaining weight, even if I'm deliberately trying to eat fewer calories by cutting back on fat to balance out the extra carbs.

I emphasize "trying" because the other thing that happens when I eat more carbs is that I find myself getting hungrier more quickly, so it's really HARD to keep my calories down. I usually wind up eating as much or more protein and fat as I would have had I eaten fewer carbs.

Doesn't matter that the excess carbs came from something "healthy" like a bowl of split pea soup or a baked sweet potato. If I eat more than about 15g of carbs in a meal, then 2 hours later, I'll be STARVING. And since I usually eat only two meals per day, if I stay under 15 g carbs per meal, it would be hard for me to manage a higher carb, low calorie diet.

But, if your metabolism isn't all screwed up - like mine clearly is, your results could be very different. If you don't find yourself STARVING 2 hours after a high carb (or highish carb) calorie-restricted meal, then calorie counting might work well for you for maintenance.

Every BODY is different. Ultimately you'll have to experiment to find what works for you. The nice thing about this forum is that nobody will slam you for trying something a bit different from the ordinary/standard LC WOEs. Good luck!