No matter how far and how often she's travelled around the globe, Yukon weightlifter Jeane Lassen has always managed to find her way back home.

For the past few years, she usually only has time for a two or three week visit, but after competing at the world weightlifting championships in Doha, Qatar last month, Lassen packed up her belongings in Montreal and decided to make the trip back to Whitehorse.

With the Commonwealth Games approaching in March, where she is expected to medal, this is perhaps one of the biggest years of Lassen's career.

So why would she leave behind her club in Montreal, having posted personal bests and new Canadian records at the Quebec championships earlier this season?

'At this point, I need more community support in my life than the fluff and facilities in the big city,' she explained.

After taking a couple of weeks off following Worlds, Lassen got back into the swing of things last week, and now trains eight times a week at Better Bodies Cross Training Centre in Whitehorse. She estimates that about 25 hours of her week are spent in the gym right now, but that will increase leading up to the Games.

'I'm doing my general training right now, trying to increase my training capacity. You can only train intensely for a short period of time, because it's really hard on your body. You basically just do it right before competition.'

As long as she is doing general training, Lassen can remain in the Yukon, because it's easy to do on your own. But when she starts focusing on technique and putting in 100 per cent, she will need to make a move back to a club with a coach.

'Right now, my plan is to go to the Colorado Springs training facility in the U.S for about a month (probably at the end of January) and then go to Melbourne (Australia, where the Commonwealth Games will be held) for about a month before the Games actually start.'

Almost the entire senior U.S national team trains at the Colorado Springs facility, and there are three coaches which work with the athletes. Lassen would have to pay about $65 U.S. per day for room and board.

'It's expensive, but I think it's totally worth in for Commonwealth Games,' she said.

Lassen is a carded athlete in Canada, which means she receives funding from the federal government. She also receives a fair chunk of money from the Quebec government right now, although that may change if she decides not to go back there for training after the Games.

And there are always scholarships and grants she can apply for, such as the Investors Group bursary which paid for her six-week training camp in Australia last summer.

Still, when you are attending camps and competitions all over the world, it comes at a high cost. So on Thursday, Lassen was pleased to announced she has found a new sponsor in the local M&M Meat Shops outlet.

'It's great, not just for the financial support, but moral support as well. When people believe in you, you believe in yourself even more. My biggest goal right now is the Commonwealth Games and I really appreciate the fact M&Ms has gotten on board before the medal.'

Kim Farrow and Jerry Quaile are the owners of the local M&M's store.

'Basically, I've known Jeane since she was born and watched her grow into this incredible athlete,' explained Farrow. 'Once I got my own business, I wanted to support Jeane and women in weightlifting.'

Farrow said while it was something she and Quaile talked about as soon as they bought the business, they wanted to wait at least a year to see how well the store faired before pledging any kind of sponsorship, so they knew how much they could give.

The sponsorship is partly in kind, with Lassen receiving gift certificates to the store, but Farrow is also willing to help out with travel and training expenses. And there may even be M&M barbecues at some point to raise money for Lassen.

'We'll support her in any way she needs.'

Nationally M&M Meat Shops, a 100 per cent Canadian owned company, is a major sponsor of the Canadian Curling Association and also contributes to Crohn's and colitis.

Farrow said M&M's can cater to a variety of diets, pointing to the vegetables, fruit and lower fat options.

'There are some misconceptions that because it's frozen food, it's processed, but that's simply not true. We have flash-frozen meat, so it's real meat. It has no preservatives. It's frozen, that's how it's preserved.'

Lassen said she's most looking forward to eating the boneless, skinless chicken breasts, which she called 'good for an active lifestyle.'

'When you're in a weight class sport, you do have to watch the scale quite a bit,' she said.

Lassen is currently ranked number one in her weight class out of all the Commonwealth countries, and is the top Canadian overall. Maryse Turcotte, a former Olympian, is ranked second overall in Canada behind Lassen.

Unless Turcotte lifts a total of one kilo more than she did at the Quebec championships earlier this year or six kilos more than she did at the world championships at a competition being held next week, Lassen will be the top Canadian in Melbourne.

As the top Canadian, Lassen would get to chose which coach she wanted to travel with her to Melbourne.