Teresa Giudice Says Husband Joe Has Lost 35 Lbs. in Prison by Doing '1,000 Sit-Ups a Day'

Joe Giudice isn't lounging around in prison.

Wife Teresa says he's been working hard during his incarceration, and is already down 35 lbs. in the first six months of his 41-month sentence.

"Oh yeah, I would say over 35 now," Teresa tells PEOPLE, when asked about his weight loss. "He's running, he's doing 1,000 sit-ups a day. So he lifts weights and that's what he's doing. Just running, working out and then a lot of push-ups and sit-ups. He's doing over 1,000 sit-ups."

The Real Housewives of New Jersey star says Joe is using his workouts as an escape during his time behind bars for mail, wire and bankruptcy fraud.



"I said just get your mind and body in check. It'll be good for you," Teresa explains. "He's been through a lot with losing his dad and then me gone, it's a lot."

Teresa relied on exercise to clear her mind and get through her own prison sentence, and went down to a size 2.

"I tried to stay busy," she previously told PEOPLE. "I would work out three times a day. That was my thing."

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Teresa discovered a love for yoga during her almost yearlong sentence, and says now that she's working on getting certified as an instructor and starting a program that allows people to go to multiple studios with a membership pass.

"I'm trying to get all yoga studios on board to join this club and then everyone pays a membership. And then you can go to any studio that's on board and only pay $9.95 per class," she explains. "So I've been going to different yoga studios and promoting them. I have to say, that I enjoy. Cause it makes me really happy, it detoxes me. Like when you stretch out your body it makes you feel good. I enjoy it and it doesn't make me think about anything and I like the way it makes me feel."