Melissa Gorga's Hot Body Secrets

Want Melissa Gorga's ab-tastic tummy? Then get ready to work for it.

"I actually do a lot of squats all summer long, and I do a lot of things to tone my legs, as well as a lot of sit-ups. I work my lower abs, my upper abs," the Real Housewives of New Jersey star tells Celebuzz about her gym rat routine. "I do thousands of sit-ups in the summertime because I'm always in a bikini and showing my stomach." Thousands? Yikes.

The mom of three – who placed 65th on the site's Hot Bodies Countdown -- now enjoys working out three times a week, although that wasn't always her attitude toward exercise. "I was the queen of excuses, thinking, ‘Oh, I don't really need to; I'm skinny, I don't really feel like it.' But, when you start working out, you see that everything starts to tighten up and everything starts to tone — and it's worth it."

Of course, Melissa notes that eating right is half the battle, too. "I never really, truly diet, but I always eat right and I make it part of my lifestyle. I tend to go for fruits and salads," the petite singer says and shares what's on the Gorga dinner menu. "The recipe I've been making a lot lately is chicken breast sliced really, really thin with Bruschetta on top of it – fresh tomatoes mixed with olive oil, garlic and parsley and a little bit of white wine drizzled over it. You don't really feel like you're eating that healthy, but you are. I also make chicken sliced thin into cutlets, with fresh spinach, garlic and olive oil on top of it."

Yum. What else is Melissa cooking up? Keep up with this Jersey girl using our Tweet Tracker.