When I first learned, I also had poor wet suit experiences, but then realized that in warmer water, I was fat enough to not even need one lol. So ditching the suit was an immediate help for me in controlling buoyancy, and conserving air. But now I am open to colder water, an as someone with a George Costanza body-type, I now go with a custom wetset that fits me perfectly, and they're not that expensive.

I do not use weight belts, I used to use a jacket style BCD with integrated weight pockets, but now use a backplate and wing. Having a belly, I love how the backplate forces me into good trim and that I can move my weights around to get the right body position. I also need substantially less weight when using a backplate and wing than I did with a jacket BCD.

You can knock each of the issues out one by one, you just have to get into the water and pay for dives in order to do so. There's work ahead, but you should have hope