How Does Jacqueline Laurita Stay in Shape?

The Real Housewives of New Jersey's Jacqueline Laurita is a busy mom, autism advocate, and licensed cosmetologist. So how does she find the time to get fit?

"I try to walk at least 30 minutes a day," she tells The Global Townhall. "I'll do walking lunges around the house, calf raisers on my stairs, push-ups, planks, crunches, and a lot of stretching when I can."

Of course, not everything Jacqueline does might be in the average housewife's budgets. "I have a private trainer, Jolene Matthews, that will come to my house 2 to 3 days a week and do a variety of different workouts with me," she admits along with the fact that she got a tummy tuck to get rid of excess skin. "I had gained 55 pounds with my last child," she confesses.

But if all of her workouts aren't within your reach, her food tips certainly can be. Jacqueline says her diet consists of a lot of vegetables, protein shakes, salads, and lean proteins during the week. "The weekends are all about pasta dishes, steak and lots of vegetable dishes," she says. "In the summer, we bar-b-que a lot. In the winter, I make a lot of hearty soups."

The NJ 'Wife also confesses that she never expected her show to become as popular as it has. "I really didn't think our show would go anywhere or anybody would really watch it except for our family and friends," she says. "I did it mostly out of curiosity to see what goes on behind the scenes of reality shows and for the experience. I was surprised and amazed at how successful it became."

She's also vowing to use her elevated platform to raise awareness for autism. "My husband and I will never stop paying it forward. We want to help as many others in the autism community as we can and give people hope."

What do you think about Jacqueline's health tips? Tell us in the comments.

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