Their thesis, that it increases cravings in certain ways, is reasonable. The implication that people behave like rats with absolutely no ability to reflect upon or control those cravings, however, is not.
I'm also one of those people that lost weight (a small amount in my case, but I didn't have that much to lose) by switching to drinking diet soda. It allowed me to satisfy a certain type of craving (to drink something with taste other than water and to satisfy some need for something sweet) without adding calories to my diet; it's possible it instilled other cravings in me for sweet things, but I've found those far easier to ignore.
Not all cravings/desires/impulses are created equally.
I'm also one of those people that lost weight (a small amount in my case, but I didn't have that much to lose) by switching to drinking diet soda. It allowed me to satisfy a certain type of craving (to drink something with taste other than water and to satisfy some need for something sweet) without adding calories to my diet; it's possible it instilled other cravings in me for sweet things, but I've found those far easier to ignore.
Not all cravings/desires/impulses are created equally.