Overweighted???
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I just found my first logbook and on one of my first dives I used 26lbs of weight and noted it was perfect! After an additional 212 dives I now use 12lbs and my height and weight are the same. Give it time and experience and you will get it figured out.
Personally.... I think it sounds like a lot. I am well... I think the word is fat... lots and lots of bodyfat, and very much a floater. I read a book on my DM float-test and didn't bat an eye, whilst my male friend treaded water to save his life... (In a fresh water pool...)
With a 3mm full and a S80, and my travel wing, I use 10lbs. With a shorty, I am at 8-9lbs. So, I do suspect that 14-16 is a lot... HOWEVER... and this is a big one...
This is NOT a contest! Use what you need to be comfortable. If you worry about having to little weight, you will unconsciously breathe with fuller lungs than you normally do. Dive so you are comfortable. If you need less weight you should be able to remove it when you have done a few comfortable dives. If you don't, well, you need what you need. (Just make sure that you know the proper technique to empty your bc, so you actually hav an empty bladder...)
With a 3mm full and a S80, and my travel wing, I use 10lbs. With a shorty, I am at 8-9lbs. So, I do suspect that 14-16 is a lot... HOWEVER... and this is a big one...
This is NOT a contest! Use what you need to be comfortable. If you worry about having to little weight, you will unconsciously breathe with fuller lungs than you normally do. Dive so you are comfortable. If you need less weight you should be able to remove it when you have done a few comfortable dives. If you don't, well, you need what you need. (Just make sure that you know the proper technique to empty your bc, so you actually hav an empty bladder...)
Lung size factors in also. Big lungs create a big air space and you cannot exhale all of it.
Bones are pretty dense, more so than muscle. Bone size varies.
BCD as noted can make a big difference. Mine has some air space in the support that holds the tank.
Some wet suits compress more than others. I used to have a 5mm semi-dry which did not absorb much water. Took more lead to sink it even at the end of the dive than my current thicker more stretchy 7mm.
Numbesr I have seen were that fat ranges from 0.85 to 0.95 as opposed to being 0.95.
Dive what makes you feel safe.
Bones are pretty dense, more so than muscle. Bone size varies.
BCD as noted can make a big difference. Mine has some air space in the support that holds the tank.
Some wet suits compress more than others. I used to have a 5mm semi-dry which did not absorb much water. Took more lead to sink it even at the end of the dive than my current thicker more stretchy 7mm.
Numbesr I have seen were that fat ranges from 0.85 to 0.95 as opposed to being 0.95.
Dive what makes you feel safe.
I can't stand the feeling that I'm overweighted and my buoyancy swing is all over the place OR being underweighted and draining my tank due to the effort needed just to stay down. It is really a joy to dive a "balanced rig"... so much more enjoyable and transparent. You can almost forget about your bouyancey - instinctively controlling it with your lung capacity... and just enjoy the dive.
Having just the right amount of weight to hold a safety/deco stop with about 30 bar ( sorry don't use psi) in you cylinder and little to no gas in your BCD is a good indication of a balanced rig.
Strive for this and you will be rewarded many times over.
Having just the right amount of weight to hold a safety/deco stop with about 30 bar ( sorry don't use psi) in you cylinder and little to no gas in your BCD is a good indication of a balanced rig.
Strive for this and you will be rewarded many times over.
I agree with all of this. You need to be able to descend, and to be able to hold a safety stop with a near-empty tank. This will depend partly on your BC, and no doubt partly on your intrinsic floatability 
... Jump in a pool in swimmers or your shorty, and see how much lead it takes to sink. I know with a full breath and no lead I can sink to my eyebrows, and empty lungs I will sink to a couple of feet. My son, with lungs as empty as you can coach a child to do, will float like a soccerball...and he's a skinny little whippet. Every body is different, so dive with what you need, and if it decreases over time then great. If you have the option to split some lead off your belt into your BC pockets to make the belt more manageable then consider this, otherwise just carry-on!
... Jump in a pool in swimmers or your shorty, and see how much lead it takes to sink. I know with a full breath and no lead I can sink to my eyebrows, and empty lungs I will sink to a couple of feet. My son, with lungs as empty as you can coach a child to do, will float like a soccerball...and he's a skinny little whippet. Every body is different, so dive with what you need, and if it decreases over time then great. If you have the option to split some lead off your belt into your BC pockets to make the belt more manageable then consider this, otherwise just carry-on! 
cool_hardware52
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Empty heads are pretty floaty too.
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Were weight checks done when you took OW? 26 down to 12 pounds is hard to explain. If you only need 12, were you not bouncing up & down with more than twice that? I've lost 4 pounds over my 10 years. Can't recall from back then for sure, but I don't remember doing a weight check at the ocean checkout dives-maybe it was done and I was good enough to begin with.
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