Whether you can continue with normal activities or lifting after ruptured disc surgery probably depends on the extent of your injury and surgery, the type of surgery done, and your individual health. Usually you will need post-op physical therapy and rehabilitation. Your doctors would likely have a better idea of how quickly you can return to normal activities after the procedure.

i had 2 ruptured discs, had surgery, and even though my surgeon told me i had a "bad back" and was at risk for reinjury, and had a partial whole body permanent disability, he cleared me for work with no restrictions.  i wanted to go back to work very badly, and was impatient.  i don't know if that was a good decision or not, because later my back got worse and now i have chronic pain in my back and legs.   

i had the surgery because the pain from the injury was completely unbearable, and my doctor didn't believe in pain meds.  had my pain been addressed i might not have been so quick to go under the knife.  I might have been willing to wait longer than 3 1/2  months for my injury to improve with conservative treatment, and avoided the surgery entirely.  back injuries can take many months to get better.  i wish i had at least tried to wait longer, because now i have failed back surgery syndrome, and it's really iffy as to whether i can ever go back to work at all...much less to a physically demanding job.