Kwbyron,
I wish that NWGratefulDiver had offered to help me when I first started! You should definitely take him up on the offer.
Remember that "It's Not A Competition". Each person needs as much weight as they need. Some people and some configurations are more bouyant than others. It is good to try to decrease the amount of lead that you are carrying, but the absolute number is not really all that important. Find out what you "need" and then use that much.
Note that many people will tell you that as you get more experienced you will need less weight. When I first started, and I heard that I thought "yeah, right". Well, it usually is true.
As you get more comfortable, you will (hopefully) get more relaxed and you will be able to use less weight.
When I started Scuba diving, the biggest change that I made was in the amount of air in my lungs at the surface. Remember that being underwater and going underwater is not "natural" for humans. All my life, just before I dove under the surface of the water, I would take in as much air as I possibly could. Whether I was swimming to the bottom of the pool to retrieve a coin, or seeing how far I could swim underwater, or whatever, I always gulped as much as possible.
It took a little while to realize, but I was doing the same thing for my Scuba descents. I would be at the surface, bobbing along, not really completely comfortable. When it was time to descend, reg in mouth, inflator up, deflate, and take in a huge breath of air. Why? Because I was going underwater, and my body "knew" that I needed air. But wait, I have a big tank of air on my back! I don't need it all in my lungs right now!
I know this sounds silly, but I really did have a lot of trouble descending until I realized and dealt with it. Before, I would have to turn upside down and kick to get under. It was silly. I ended up adding more weight to ensure that I would be able to descend. Then I was adding more air at depth to compensate. More air in the BC means more expansion / contraction as I ascended / descended. Later, when I had closer to the "right" amount of weight, the variations were much smaller and easier to deal with.
Even when you think that you are exhaled, a feeling of angst can make you keep a tight chest and a lot of air inside. Once I became really comfortable, and learned to really exhale, I carry a bunch less weight, and I descend simply by exhaling more deeply as I deflate.
You might be surprised how bouyant a small volume of air can be. I knew a lady in Cozumel that was having some trouble descending some times. I noticed that her hood was filling with air (it had a small visor that caught passing exhaled air bubbles) On one descent, I gently pressed down on her hood, just enough to push the air out, but not enough to be pushing her down. She descended more easily, and we talked about it later. Just that air in her hood made a difference, and she wasn't even aware it was there. Of course she had always been able to descend regardless of air in her hood, but the point is that it made a difference.
Just some suggestions, and only because you asked.
Wristshot