I'm a beginner, especially with clipless pedals, so I hope someone with more experience will chime in.

When I got my new bike, the bike shop folks adjusted the clipless so that I could stand there and get in and out pretty easily. They had me standing there a while, practicing, too.

And they told me that I'd probably want them tighter as I got more used to the pedals and such.

SO, check with your bike shop folks or if you have directions, and see if you can loosen up the cleats a bit, at least for while you're getting comfortable?

(The bike shop lent me plastic pieces on one side of each pedal so that I could ride regular if I wanted; when they took those off, I was able to adjust the cleats on that side with a little hex wrench pretty easily. I just used the shoes alone to test that each cleat was pretty easy to get out of, then practiced again with the shoes on.)

I hope that helps! Good luck!