I'm 62 and 40 lbs overweight, but I rode a lot as a kid. When I got back into biking I went whole hog: A fancy CF bike, Shimano Road Pedals, and Sidi Genius shoes (with the appropriate Shimano cleats). Wasn't that hard, even with some neuropathy in my feet that doesn't allow me to feel the pedals very easily when mounting up. To eject, its' pretty easy to train yourself to flip your heels outward.
If you are just going to ride, and ride distances like 5, 10, 15 miles or more, road cleats are probably going to be best. If you plan on biking a few miles over to Starbucks or to the section of town with sidewalk bistros (that is, if you will be getting off the bike and walking around) then MTB cleats with comfortable MTB shoes will be better (my opinion).
I strongly recommend against riding road (e.g. hard plastic or CF bottom) shoes without cleats - too easy to have the foot slip off the pedal. Way more dangerous, to my mind, than any issues with cleats holding your feet against your will. Without cleats, use a non-cleat pedal and your sneakers as ShelbyGT suggests.
Last edited by WizardOfBoz; 01-23-20 at 12:55 PM.