Bravo reality star Melissa Gorga appears on the cover on the latest issue of Us Weekly flaunting her toned body in a red bikini alongside Jessica Alba.

The Real Housewives of New Jersey star fronts the cover of the magazine's annual Hot Bodies Issue, and in the cover story she revealed her exercise routines and eating habits that help keeps the married mother of three in shape.

The married New Jersey resident said that she works out three days a a week that she does "a lot of squats and lunges to bulk and lift it up" at New York City's Soul Cycle.

"I know women who try to minimize their backside but I actually grab more weight when it comes to that," Gorga said of her workout secrets. "I do a lot of squats, I grab heavier weights to help bulk it and lift it up-I want a bigger booty!"

"I definitely work out now harder than I've ever worked out in my life," she added. "It came naturally to me before I had children, and now I have to work for it, which I'm used to. I've alw"ays been a hard worker. I don't mind working for it."

Gorga has a daughter Antonia, 7, and two sons -Gino, 5, and Joey, 3. She said she is lucky to have a "got skinnier and skinner" following the birth of her children. She was about "five to ten pounds heavier" than she is now when she first met her husband.

Gorga revealed that she limits her sweet intake to fruit instead of candies when she craves sugar because she has a "sweet tooth."

"I love candy but I try to stay away so I look for something sweet which is always frui," she said. "So if I'm craving something sweet at night I go for fruit, I usually go for the berries. I love strawberries, I'll pick up an orange, grapes...As long as you have fruit you get that sweet crave out of the way."

She revealed another secret to help keep her caloric intake at bay - she limits her alcoholic drinking to the weekends.

"I'm pretty much a weekend drinker" she said, adding that soda "doesn't exist in our house."

Gorga described her family as "seltzer drinkers" who drink seltzer with lemon all day long to help her entire family stay healthy.

Fans can expect to see Gorga and her Real Housewives of New Jersey castmates - Jacqueline Laurita, Teresa Giudice, Caroline Manzo, and Kathy Wakile - when the show return to television this summer.

The Real Housewives of New Jersey season 5 premieres June 2 at 8/7 p.m. Central on Bravo.

Watch TRHONJ Melissa Gorga's behind-the-scenes video shoot and interview for Us Weekly

Tags: Melissa Gorga Real Housewives of New Jersey