dVH/RALH post-op appt. Confused by what Dr. said RE: exersize

So about 5 days after surgery I emailed my Dr. and asked him a couple of questions, one of them was how much exersize I should be getting, and this is what he said:

"Walk only a litle bit. The first 2-3 weeks try to do very little, even if you feel great. I you overdo it, that is when the problems start. The surgical margins will get inflamed and then the area will swell, start throbbing, and it will take longer for it to heal. walk 3 or 4 blocks at most. Take it easy"

Then at my post-op appt. 10 days after surgery he said that I can walk more and try riding my bike and he said that I should ignore what it said on the instruction sheet (to lift no more than 15 pounds for the next 6 weeks). He said that is basically meaningless because we use our abdominal muscles all the time and he said that even for me to get on the exam table and lie down and then get back up actually put 75 pounds of stress on my abdomen.

That makes sense but then why do they always say not to lift anything? Also considering what he said about inflaming the surgical margins and delaying healing, I am confused as to why he said to be so careful and now it seems I have carte blanche as far as my activities. I've decided to just play it safe and go by my own instincts. But it struck me as odd.

Well I have to say that I do find that contradictory at best. My lifting restrictions were for 6 weeks and then doctor extended them since I was still experiencing some bleeding. I was told to rest most of the time for the first week...perhaps walking around my house or a walk to the mailbox to increase strength. He always cautioned me that I would feel like I could do more than I should. Then I just increased my activity little by little as I felt comfortable.
Do you have a primary care physician that you could contact for a "second opinion" on this subject?? It would just be interesting to have another point of view. Or perhaps you could phone the surgeons office and remind him of your email and ask about the contradiction. I think your idea of playing it safe is a smart one.
Good luck to you in your recovery.

Thank you jenbian. I do have some very light spotting still, perhaps that is an indicator of how much I can exert myself.

When in doubt, keep it conservative.

Wishing you a speedy recovery.